April 14, 2007	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1428

HONG KONG, April 13: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Friday with investors consolidating ahead of the G7 finance ministers meeting in Washington later in the day, and a slew of US economic data out due next week.

Investors had been holding out for CPI figures amid signs the US Federal Reserve was still prepared to hike interest rates to curb inflation resulting in a mixed performance in recent trading days.

As a result Tokyo was down 1.01 per cent, Seoul shed 0.32 per cent, Sydney fell 0.37 per cent, Taipei was 0.90 per cent lower and Manila shed 0.19 per cent.

TOKYO: Share prices skidded lower as investors waited nervously to see whether world finance ministers would discuss the weakness of the yen at a weekend meeting.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 176.47 points or 1.01 per cent to 17,363.95 on volume of 2.03 billion shares up from 1.81 billion on Thursday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.19 per cent weaker as investors locked in profits in property stocks amid an uncertain outlook for interest rates.

Dealers said trading was also cautious ahead of key inflation data in the US and a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers this weekend.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 39.24 points at 20,340.97. Turnover was 57.19 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.3 billion US).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 0.37 per cent as investors took profits after the market hit record levels during the week.

Dealers said increased speculation of a rise in official interest rates also weighed on sentiment, they said.

The SP/ASX 200 fell 22.5 points to 6,135.7. Turnover was 2.04 billion shares worth 6.51 billion dollars (5.39 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed flat as some investors continued to take profits in the wake of the benchmark index's recent record-breaking run.

Dealers noted however that some low cap penny stocks provided some support.

The Straits Times Index closed up 0.90 points at 3,373.59, on volume of 3.87 billion shares worth 2.18 billion Singapore dollars (1.44 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat with profit-taking offset by last-minute support for property stocks after the government announced measures to boost the sector.

The composite index gained 1.01 points to 1,308.20 on volume of 2.03 billion shares worth 2.56 billion ringgit (743.90 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Share prices closed up 0.56 per cent on Friday to reach a fresh record high, buoyed by expectations of healthy corporate earnings growth.

The composite index closed up 10.755 points at 1,941.152 on volume of 2.82 billion shares valued at 3.42 trillion rupiah (375.90 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.09 per cent lower, dragged down by uncertainty over the impact of regulatory changes affecting market leader Telecom.

The NZX-50 index was 3.8 points down at 4,164.30 on turnover worth 120.23 million dollars (87.64 million US).

Telecom fell 13 cents to 4.74 dollars, a day after an 18 per cent rise on news the government will re-auction certain broadcast spectrum rights.

Telecom's statement had been “reasonably aggressive,” and there were fears of a stalemate with the regulator, said Goldman Sachs JB Were broker Jeremy Coe.

MUMBAI: Share prices rose 2.06 per cent as higher-than-expected fourth quarter profits from earnings bellwether Infosys spurred fresh buying.

Dealers said investors had been looking for direction from the results of the the Bangalore-based company which announced net profit for the three months to March 31 rose to Rs11.4 billion ($266.5 million) from the same period a year earlier.

The markets saw a clear signal from the Infosys earnings. We expect the buying momentum to sustain next week after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announces its earnings, sd Atul Hatwar, dealer at brokerage Crosseas Securities.—AFP