0
HONG KONG, Jan 9: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Tuesday with Shanghai again outperforming, after Wall Street recovered from sharp falls overnight after upbeat comments on the US economy from the Federal Reserve.
In New York shares had traded sharply lower until the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Donald Kohn said the US economy was set for moderate expansion this year. Wall Street then recovered to close slightly higher.
This was enough to entice investors back into Asian equities which had been sold off most of the new year with Shanghai surging 3.72 per cent to a record high on record turnover.
Gains elsewhere were more modest with Sydney surging 1.59 per cent, Tokyo up 0.86 per cent, Taipei rose 0.69 per cent, Seoul gained 0.26 per cent, Singapore climbed 0.28 per cent and Kuala Lumpur was up 0.53 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed up 0.86 per cent as investors returned from a three-day weekend in upbeat mood, encouraged by an overnight rebound on Wall Street.
Dealers said the market staged an early rally as investors bought back shares after Friday's heavy losses but it pared some of its gains by the close amid jitters over a possible interest rate rise in Japan next week.
The Nikkei-225 index of leading shares gained 146.18 points to 17,237.77.
Volume fell to 2.05 billion shares from 2.15 billion on Friday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.66 per cent lower on profit-taking in some property stocks and China counters after their recent gains, with rotational buying of select blue chips and local banks helping limit the downside.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 131.58 points at 19,898.08. Turnover was 62.71 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.0 billion US dollars).
SYDNEY: Share prices rose a sharp 1.59 per cent, helped by a modest rise on Wall Street.
The SP/ASX 200 rose 87.7 points to 5,589.7. A total of 1.67 billion shares were traded, worth 5.15 billion dollars (4.12 billion US).
Bell Potter Securities senior private client advisor Stuart Smith said bargain hunters had moved in with a vigour that surprised market watchers, largely reversing losses recorded since the New Year.
I think the rise surprised the experts who thought we might have had a dead-cat (short-term) bounce this morning and then trail-off into insignificance for the rest of the day, Smith said.
“We woke up in the New Year to a nice correction and that has invited buyers who have been on the sidelines and watching.”He said investors were optimistic about prospects for the resources and banking sectors.
BHP Billiton shares jumped 0.84 dollars to 24.70.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.28 per cent higher supported by selected blue chips.
But dealers said profit-taking in the broad market capped the upside.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 8.35 points at 3,008.35 on volume of 3.16 billion shares worth 1.84 billion dollars (1.20 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices gained 0.53 per cent led by investor interest in bluechips.
The composite index gained 5.94 points to 1,118.96 on volume of 1.06 billion shares valued at 1.65 billion ringgit (47 million dollars).
SBB Securities senior investment analyst Ng Jun Sheng, said his house has a 1,200-point year-end target for the bourse.
Tenaga gained 0.10 ringgit to 11.50.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.79 per cent lower, with banks hit by a sector downgrade from Merrill Lynch and sentiment hit by heavy selling on the Thai bourse.
The composite index closed down 32.513 points at 1,780.881. Volume totaled 4.98 billion shares valued at 3.25 trillion rupiah (359.63 million dollars).
Merrill Lynch said earlier it had cut its rating on Indonesian banks to “marketweight” from “overweight” due to valuation concerns after the sector's strong rally last year.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.59 per cent higher with leading stocks heading upwards as the market sprang back into life following the holiday period.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 24.07 points to 4,052.65 on turnover worth 103.8 million New Zealand dollars (71.9 million US).
The index hit a record high during the day of 4,052.65 before falling back before the close.
The proposed deal raised questions about Contact's future as a part of an enlarged group, Lindsay said.
The group will either have another crack at acquiring minority interests in Contact, or it may turn around and actually divest its interest, he said.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed down 0.63 per cent in rangebound trade as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of September-December earnings due this month.
Dealers said investors would take a cue on earnings after Infosys Technologies, the country's second largest software exporter, reported earnings on Thursday.—AFP
