February 17, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 28, 1428

HONG KONG, Feb 16: Asian stocks closed mixed but tended lower on Friday with investors ignoring a record finish on Wall Street and booking profits ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays.

Seoul made a slight 0.36 per cent gain on continued optimism following an easing in nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula while Jakarta, Hong Kong Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur inched higher amid broader profit taking.

All other markets ended lower with Tokyo, down 0.12 per cent, typifying the mood. Singapore fell 0.48 percent and Sydney shed 0.65 per cent with both benchmarks falling off record highs.

Bangkok was down 0.84 per cent while Manila was the worst on the day after slumping 1.36 per cent with investors consolidating on pere cent sharp gains.

Taipei and Mumbai were closed for public holidays.

TOKYO: Share prices closed slightly lower, easing off near seven-year highs as investors locked in profits ahead of next week's interest rate decision by the central bank.

Dealers said a stronger yen also weighed on exporters after the Japanese currency hit five-week highs against the dollar in overseas trade Thursday.

The Nikkei-225 index shed 21.58 points to 17,875.65. Volume was 2.15 billion shares, down from 2.39 billion on Thursday.

Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities, said market participants were cautious in view of the US public holiday Monday and the Bank of Japan's decision on Wednesday on whether to hike interest rates.

Market views are divided on whether the BoJ will raise interest rates to 0.5 percent given still-sluggish consumer spending and weak inflation.

It is hard to say what the decision by the Bank of Japan will be. Investors would like to wait ... until the decision is made, said Miura.

The food and beverage sector was in focus after US hedge fund Steel Partners said it was considering a tender offer to take control of Sapporo Holdings, the holding company for Japan's number three brewer.

Rival Asahi Breweries meanwhile denied a report in the Yomiuri Shimbun daily that it had informally made a takeover offer to Sapporo late last year.

“The news induced an appetite for buying ... on expectations of consolidation (in the sector),” said Miura.

Sapporo Holdings jumped 100 yen or 12.6 percent to 891 and Asahi Breweries advanced 31 yen or 1.6 percent to 1,982. Kirin Brewery rose 77 yen or 4.2 percent to 1,911.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent higher on rotational buying of second and third-tier stocks, although trading overall was quiet ahead of a long weekend.

The Hang Seng index closed up 29.49 points at 20,567.91. Turnover today was 37 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.7 billion US).

The market lacked clear direction ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays,said Ben Kwong, research head at KGI Asia.—AFP