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HONG KONG, May 21: Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, buoyed by a record performance on Wall Street and China's strong showing after its central bank dramatically moved to slow its galloping economy.
Frenzied takeover speculation supported Wall Street while Shanghai surged 1.04 per cent as a widening of the yuan trading band and a rise in interest rates and reserve ratios for banks, failed to curb enthusiasm for stocks.
As a result Shanghai notched up another record close as did Seoul, Sydney, Wellington, Jakarta and Manila.
Tokyo typified the mood with a gain of 0.90 per cent while Taipei surged 1.34 per cent, Mumbai advance 0.81 per cent and Hong Kong gained a more modest 0.11 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices rebounded from last week's losses, lifted by another record high Friday on Wall Street and a softer yen which spurred interest in exporters.
The Nikkei-225 index advanced 157.29 points to 17,556.87. Volume slipped to 1.93 billion shares from 1.97 billion on Friday.
Shares were buoyed by Wall Street's record-breaking streak, the weaker yen and the resilience of Chinese share prices to the latest tightening measures, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed firmer, but with much of the day's gains initially driven by Wall Street's record finish on Friday slashed by profit-taking in volatile trade.
Concerns have re-emerged over the possibility of China announcing further monetary tightening moves if the latest package of measures fails to cool down the mainland stock markets, they added.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.90 per cent at record highs following gains on China's stockmarket and another all-time best on Wall Street Friday.
Instead, Chinese shares chalked up another record finish of their own as sharp early losses were erased quickly on heavy bargain-hunting.
That, combined with Wall Street's relentless record breaking advance was enough for local investors to continue buying.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed just 0.06 per cent higher after a bout of late profit-taking.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 2.09 points at 3,514.49. Volume was 2.22 billion shares worth 2.12 billion dollars (1.39 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.67 per cent lower due to profit-taking, despite sharp gains being notched-up elsewhere in the region.
The ringgit reached a new high of 3.39 to the dollar, its highest level since it was de-pegged against the US dollar in July 2005.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.36 per cent higher, with follow-through interest in banks and other selected stocks helping the main index to finish at a new record high.
The composite index closed up 7.509 points to 2,071.272. Volume was 4.04 billion shares worth 4.51 trillion rupiah (514.54 million dollars.
WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.22 per cent for the third straight closing high following a positive lead from overseas markets.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 9.28 points to 4,289.71 on strong turnover worth 264.1 million dollars (193.1 million US).
He said second-ranked stock Fletcher Building again led the market higher, with continuing speculation it could be a takeover target. Fletcher Building closed up 36 cents at 12.85 dollars.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 0.81 per cent on strong regional market trends.
Dealers said however that software stocks fell as the rupee gained against the dollar. Many Indian software firms bill overseas clients in dollars and a gain in the rupee cuts local currency earnings.—AFP
