January 26, 2007	Friday	Muharram 06, 1428

HONG KONG, Jan 25: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday after afternoon profit taking set-in with investors cashing up on an early rally made on the back of a record close on Wall Street overnight.

The reversal of fortune was highlighted in Tokyo, where the benchmark shed 0.28 per cent after officials indicated an interest rate rise could yet be in the offing, sending the dollar to a four-year low against the yen.

TOKYO: Share prices closed down 0.28 per cent, erasing strong early gains on profit-taking and remarks by a Bank of Japan policymaker over the possibility of an interest rate hike.

Dealers said the hawkish remarks by Miyako Suda, one of nine members of the Bank of Japan Policy Board, sent the dollar tumbling against the yen, which last week sunk to a four-year low after the Bank of Japan left super-low rates unchanged. A weak yen benefits Japanese exporters.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 49.10 points to 17,458.30. Earlier in the session, the index had hit six-year interday highs. Volume declined to 2.31 billion shares from 2.67 billion on Wednesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.73 per cent lower as investors stepped up profit-taking in late trade, with China stocks and property firms hit following recent strong gains.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 151.22 points at 20,669.83. Turnover was 51.77 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.63 billion US dollars).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed barely higher but gains were enough for a fourth consecutive record finish as an overnight surge on Wall Street buoyed investors.

The SP/ASX 200 added 1.1 points to 5,769.9. Turnover was 1.93 billion shares worth 7.77 billion dollars (6 billion US) with 649 stocks up.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed sharply lower on profit-taking in blue chips following a record-busting run.

The Straits Times Index slumped 41.61 points to 3,108.63. Volume was 2.66 billion shares worth 2.13 billion Singapore dollars (1.39 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.29 per cent lower in cautious trade ahead of utility giant Tenaga Nasional's first quarter results, ending a nine-day rally.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.76 per cent lower on across-the-board profit-taking with many stocks now seen richly valued after last week's strong gains.

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed barely changed as investors took the central bank's decision to leave interest rates on hold in their stride.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 2.63 points to 4,135.56 on turnover of 97.0 million dollars (67.9 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 1.22 per cent higher to a record high as foreign funds bought leading index shares at the expiry of the January futures contract.

Investors often buy shares on market in tandem with futures contracts which act as a benchmark for expectations on possible price movements.

The 30-share Sensex index ended up 172.26 points to 14,282.46.—AFP