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HONG KONG, Feb 7: Asian stocks closed mostly firmer on Wednesday after an indifferent showing on Wall Street where concerns at rising oil prices and the tailing off of the results season kept investors subdued, dealers said.
They said the regional performance varied -- from fresh records in Sydney, Wellington, Singapore and Mumbai to a sharp correction in Manila -- as investors followed local leads and themes.
With the Lunar New Year holidays next week fast approaching there were signs of position adjustment ahead of what will be quite a long break for some markets but underlying sentiment remains strong.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.66 per cent as investors found few reasons to buy after a subdued session on Wall Street and a recent strengthening of the yen, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 114.54 points to 17,292.32. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section companies lost 4.06 points or 0.23 per cent to 1,728.36.
Decliners beat gainers 1,092 to 486, with 134 stocks flat. Volume rose to 2.53 billion shares from 2.32 billion on Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.12 per cent higher as select China stocks attracted rotational interest, helping the market reverse modest losses posted in the morning session, dealers said.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 24.49 points at 20,679.69, off a low of 20,598.03 and high of 20,739.01. Turnover was 49.09 billion dollars (6.29 billion US). Investors were generally cautious ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
SYDNEY: Australian shares prices rose 0.5 per cent for another record finish after resources giant BHP Billiton posted all-time high interim results, dealers said.
They said BHP Billiton also got a boost from a share buy-back announcement and this helped the resources sector and the market as a whole.
The benchmark SP/ASX 200 closed up 29.3 points at a record 5,899.8 while the broader All Ordinaries index also hit a new high, up 22.4 points to 5,8709.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices rose 0.41 per cent for another record close, supported by gains in the banks and other blue chips, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index added 13.35 points to 3,236.6, topping the previous high of 3,223.32 points set on Monday. Volume was 2.18 billion shares worth 2.1 billion dollars (1.37 billion US). Gains led declines 452 to 283 with 639 stocks unchanged.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed up 0.56 per cent, extending gains for a seventh straight trading day on the back of interest in the construction and plantation stocks, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 6.94 points at 1,243.57 on turnover of 2.35 billion shares worth 3.28 billion ringgit (939 million dollars) while gainers led losers 541 to 360, with 276 stocks unchanged.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.21 per cent higher on a technical rebound in select large caps led by Astra International and Perusahaan Gas Negara, dealers said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 3.616 points at 1,764.909 on 2.57 billion shares worth 2.24 trillion rupiah (248 million dollars). Gainers led decliners 97 to 69, with 41 stocks unchanged.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 1.50 per cent for a record close on the best one-day gain in 10 months as the market played catch-up after a public holiday Tuesday, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index jumped 63.03 points to 4,211.61 on turnover worth 225.43 million New Zealand dollars (151.76 million US). The previous record high of 4,152.98 was set on January 31.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices made it another record close after the government sharply revised up its full-year growth forecast to 9.2 per cent, dealers said.
They said the revised forecast for the year ending March 2007 from an earlier estimate above eight per cent spurred buying in blue-chip shares.—AFP
