HONG KONG, June 4: Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday with investors riding high on Wall Street's record close and all but ignoring steep falls in the Chinese markets.
Shanghai slumped 8.26 per cent on re-emerging fears Beijing would again act to slow its galloping benchmarks after tripling the tax on stock transactions last week.
However, investors were more concerned with a solid US employment report that rallied investors in New York at the end of last week.
Regional markets also found some support from investors selling out of China and re-weighting into places like Hong Kong, up 0.62 per cent, Bangkok soared 2.21 per cent and Manila rose 2.13 per cent for a best ever finish.
Sydney, Singapore, Seoul and Jakarta also had their highest close ever while poor sentiment in China tarnished Tokyo which rose a modest 0.08 per cent as late profit taking eroded early gains in Kuala Lumpur and it closed flat.
Mumbai bucked the trend and fell 0.51 per cent on heavy profit talking.
Wellington was closed for a public holiday.
TOKYO: Share prices edged up to a fresh three-month high, buoyed by a stronger Wall Street and a weaker yen, although a slump in Chinese stocks weighed on sentiment.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 14.54 points to 17,973.42. Volume rose to 2.55 billion shares from 2.49 billion on Friday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.62 per cent higher on capital inflows as some institutional investors shifted funds into Hong Kong from China due to extreme volatility there.
Dealers said the Shanghai bourse's benchmark index fell more than eight per cent amid worries of further government measures to cool the markets following last week's hike in stamp duty on securities transactions.
The Hang Seng index closed up 126.72 points at 20,729.59. Turnover was heavy at 67.1 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.6 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices shot up 0.94 per cent to close at record highs on the back of better-than-expected US data and higher base metal prices.
Dealers said the strong US data underpinned another record-breaking performance on Wall Street Friday and that was enough for local investors, following that lead rather than reacting to heavy losses on the Chinese stock markets.
A plunge of 8.26 per cent in Shanghai as Beijing tried to rein in over-exuberant investors did have an impact given China's position as a major customer for Australian resources but it was relatively muted.
The local market was hit last week by an initial drop in China after Beijing hiked a tax on stock transactions and it suffered in line with a global equity sell-off in late February when the Chinese bourses tumbled.
SINGAPORE: Share prices powered to an all-time closing high, fuelled by Wall Street's record gains last week.
Dealers said sentiment was further boosted by gains in key regional bourses despite a sharp slide in China's stock markets.
The Straits Times index closed up 31.03 points to 3,579.35 on volume of 2.35bn shares worth 2.01 billion dollars (1.55 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.01 per cent higher, little changed as investors sold into strength after the benchmark composite index hit new highs during the day.
The composite index rose 0.20 points to 1,360.27 on Volume of 941.819 million shares valued at 1.946 billion ringgit (572.3 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices rose 1.31 per cent pushing the main index to a record close, on optimism of further cuts in Bank Indonesia's benchmark interest rate.
The composite index closed up 27.428 points at 2,111.752 on Volume of 8.43 billion shares worth 6.98 trillion rupiah (794.26 million dollars).
MUMBAI: Share prices fell 0.51 per cent in volatile trade, shedding all morning gains as investors locked-in profits as the markets edged to record levels.
Dealers said software stocks fell as the rupee continued to strengthen against the dollar, at a near-decade high of 40.47 on Monday.—AFP
