June 06, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428

HONG KONG, June 5: Asian stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors began adjusting their positions after focussing on the roller coaster fluctuations in the Chinese markets.

Investors had largely shrugged off the dramatic mainland falls sparked last week by authorities who tripled taxes on stock transactions. But this changed in early trade once Shanghai had fallen more than 7.0 per cent on the day.

TOKYO: Share prices ended above the key 18,000 points level for the first time for over three months after Wall Street set a fresh record high overnight.

The Nikkei-225 index added 80.39 points to 18,053.81. Volume dropped to 2.30 billion shares from 2.55 billion on Monday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.54 per cent higher in volatile trade as the market tracked a roller-coaster ride on China's bourses, which finished higher after extending Monday's tumble in early trade.

SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 0.35 per cent as sharp falls in China saw the market retreat from record highs.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 22.1 points at 6,370.8. Turnover was 1.97 billion shares worth 5.65 billion dollars (4.7 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent lower as profit-taking erased earlier gains that had lifted the benchmark index to a new all-time high.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.69 per cent higher on late institutional support after China's stock markets rebounded from their steep falls.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed down 0.88 per cent on late profit-taking as investors chose to cash in gains amid a lack of fresh positive leads.

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.36 per cent higher, with defensive stocks leading the way amid concerns about the strong local currency and high interest rates.

MUMBAI: Share prices rose 0.27 per cent, making modest gains on buying in mid and small-cap stocks.—AFP