April 13, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1428

HONG KONG, April 12: Asian stocks closed mixed and tending lower on Thursday following falls on Wall Street and fears the United States could still raise interest rates to combat inflation.

The latest economic indicators for Asia's largest export market were contained in the minutes from the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve indicating further rate rises had not been ruled out.

Tokyo was down 0.73 per cent after tracking Wall Street, Hong Kong eased 0.34 per cent and Singapore dropped 1.42 per cent after a succession of record closes.

TOKYO: Share prices retreated on the heels of Wall Street as investors fretted about interest rates and slowing economic growth in the United States.

The Nikkei-225 index closed down 129.65 points to 17,540.42. Volume advanced to 1.88 billion shares from 1.81 billion on Wednesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.34 per cent lower, snapping a five-day winning streak as minutes of last month's US Federal Reserve meeting renewed worries over interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 69.22 points at 20,380.21. Turnover was 59.99 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.7 billion US).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.11 per cent at a new record high, supported by strong local fundamentals in the face of declines in US markets.

The SP/ASX 200 closed up 6.8 points at 6,158.2. A total of 1.78 billion shares worth 5.86 billion dollars (4.84 billion US) were traded.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.42 per cent lower as investors cashed in gains after a recent record-breaking run.

Dealers said banks and property stocks led the declines.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat with gains in late trade off-setting profit-taking on fresh worries over inflation in the United States.

JAKARTA: Share prices edged down 0.03 per cent, as late gains offset initial profit taking.

The composite index closed down 0.647 points at 1,930.397 on volume of 3.21 billion shares worth 3.36 trillion rupiah (368.82 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.50 per cent higher following a sharp rise in market leader Telecom.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 20.74 points to 4,168.10 on turnover worth 149.0 million dollars (108.3 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.53 per cent lower as investors continued to unwind positions ahead of the earnings season which kicks off this week.

The 30-share Mumbai Sensex fell 69.43 points to 13,113.81.

—AFP