June 19, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 03, 1428

HONG KONG, June 18: Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday following solid gains in New York at the end of last week amid a further easing of fears surrounding inflation and possible higher US interest rates.

Wall Street gained on Friday with investors cheering a government report that revealed the core rate of inflation excluding food and energy costs, was slightly lower than forecasts.

Asia fell into line with Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila and advancing further into record territory. Kuala Lumpur rose 0.80 per cent while Sydney gained 0.79 per cent, both were just shy of a record close.

Mumbai bucked the trend and fell 0.58 per cent on local tax concerns.

Taipei was closed for a public holiday.

TOKYO: Share prices gained nearly one per cent, passing the symbolic 18,000-point barrier to reach a nearly four-month high on Wall Street's turnaround and a weaker yen.

The Nikkei-225 index rose 178.03 points to 18,149.52. Volume traded increased to 2.0 billion shares from 1.97 billion shares on Friday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed at a new record high as strong interest in China stocks led the market to its largest single-day turnover.

Sentiment was also supported by Wall Street's gains Friday and gains on regional bourses Monday after tame US core consumer inflation figures.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 565.84 points at 21,582.89. Turnover was a record 100.07 billion Hong Kong dollars (12.8 billion US).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.79 per cent higher following further gains on Wall Street, with major resource stocks leading the way.

The S&P/ASX 200 was 49.6 points higher at 6,343.4. Turnover was 2.01 billion shares worth 6.40 billion dollars (5.37 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices finished up 1.19 per cent at a new all-time high for the second straight session amid easing concerns of a hike in US interest rates.

The Straits Times Index (STI) gained 42.63 points to 3,623.79 on volume of 3.71 billion shares valued at 2.34 billion Singapore dollars (1.53 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices ended 0.80 per cent higher as gains in blue-chips and a rebound in plantation stocks pushed the key index close to the record high.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed up 0.28 per cent at a new record high as sentiment remained upbeat after another positive finish on Wall Street last week.

WELLINGTON: Share prices jumped 2.11 per cent, sparked by news of a possible takeover bid for blue chip Auckland International Airport.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 90.72 points to 4,303.18 on turnover worth 98.5 million dollars (74.3 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices fell 0.58 per cent in cautious and choppy trade following a government note on tax from share sales for overseas funds and local institutions.—AFP