HONG KONG, May 22: Asian stocks shrugged off a mixed overnight performance by Wall Street and closed mostly higher on Tuesday amid some solid corporate earnings reports and brighter regional investor sentiment.
That mood was also bolstered by China where the Shanghai benchmark extended its push into record territory by a further 0.94 per cent with investors again all but ignoring Beijing's latest moves to cool its runaway economy.
Tokyo rose 0.70 per cent, Sydney gained 0.47 per cent and Mumbai was up a more modest 0.24 per cent while a surge in oil prices added some extra shine to Bangkok which gained 0.62 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices gained for a second straight day on the back of a soft yen -- which benefits exporters -- and positive corporate news.
The Nikkei-225 index added 123.18 points to 17,680.05. Volume climbed to 2.14 billion shares from 1.93 billion on Monday.
Buying of bank and technology shares such as Sony supported the market, said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.40 per cent lower as caution set in ahead of US-China economic talks in Washington, driving investors to the sidelines to consolidate recent gains.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 83.83 points to 20,843.92. Turnover was 53.98 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.92 billion US).
The market is very boring and listless, Peter Lai, investment manager at DBS Vickers, said just before trading closed.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed at a new record high as the city-state's positive economic prospects lured investors to the market.
The Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 25.33 points at 3,539.82. Volume traded was 2.53 billion shares worth 2.42 billion dollars (1.58 billion US).
The government on Monday revised upwards its 2007 GDP growth forecast to 5.0-7.0 per cent from 4.5-6.5 per cent.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed up 1.51 per cent at a record high on a technical rebound, with sentiment boosted by expectations for an early general election. The composite index gained 20.34 points to 1,367.51 on volume of 975.45 million shares worth 2.13 billion ringgit (628.78 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.36 per cent higher with a stronger rupiah boosting sentiment, helping lift the main index to a fresh record high.
The composite index closed up 7.482 points at 2,078.754. Volume was 5.92 billion shares worth 5.77 trillion rupiah (664.13 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed little changed after hitting a fresh record high earlier in the session.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 0.12 points to 4,289.59 on turnover worth 164.4 million dollars (119.7 million US).
Market leader Telecom fell three cents to 4.79 dollars, while profit-takers pushed Fletcher Building down 20 cents to 12.65.
Casino operator Sky City closed up 16 cents at 5.08 dollars, earlier hitting a three-month high of 5.20 after announcing cost-cutting plans and possible asset sales. Sky City also said it was comfortable with analysts' forecasts for its profit.
The news of the cost cutting, including the trimming of 230 jobs, was received positively by the market, said Grant Williamson of Hamilton Hindin Greene.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.24 per cent higher for a fifth straight daily gain, however, profit-taking capped broader gains in the market. The benchmark 30-share Sensitive Index rose 35.12 points to 14,453.72.
The markets saw profit-booking at higher levels. We, however, expect the buying momentum to sustain in the days ahead, said Atul Hatwar, dealer at brokerage Crosseas Securities.—AFP
