HONG KONG, July 16: Asian stocks closed lower on Monday with investors anxious to cash-up on the latest rally which sent many markets to record or multi-year highs.
Even another record close by Wall Street last Friday failed to convince investors that more gains are yet to come while a sharp fall in China also rattled broader regional sentiment.
Shanghai tumbled 2.36 per cent amid fears upcoming economic data will push the central government into tightening economic policies. Hong Kong shed 0.63 per cent, Taipei was off 0.57 per cent and Seoul fell 0.68 per cent.
Elsewhere, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington were little changed.
Kuala Lumpur was down a bare 0.23 per cent while upcoming shares offers suppressed Manila which was down 0.86 per cent. Bangkok eased 0.24 per cent and Jakarta was off 0.67 per cent.
Only Mumbai bucked the trend with a mild 0.25 per cent gain, and another record close. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.63 per cent lower as profit-taking gathered pace in late trade after a sharp fall on China bourses with the key Index slipping below the 23,000 level.
Dealers said investors turned cautious about the market's prospects after its record-breaking run in the last two weeks, while several players also moved to the sidelines ahead of a slew of economic data in the US and China this week, including key inflation figures.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 145.35 points at 22,953.94. Turnover was 75.85 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.7 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.13 per cent lower amid concerns that acquisition activity or speculation surrounding top miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton could get out of hand.
Dealers said Rio Tinto fell on concerns its debt will increase sharply as a result of its 38.1 billion dollar bid for Canadian aluminium group Alcan, announced last week, while rival BHP Billiton was weighed down by rumours it may bid for Alcan's previous suitor.
BHP, the world's biggest miner, was tightlipped on reports that it is considering making a 50 billion dollar bid for US aluminium giant Alcoa as analysts considered the prospects for a major consolidation in the sector.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.04 per cent lower as profit-taking erased earlier gains sparked by Wall Street's record rally last week.
The Straits Times Index lost 1.38 points to 3,653.23 on volume of 4.64 billion shares worth 2.51 billion Singapore dollars (1.66 billion US).
Profit-taking emerged after sentiment in regional markets took a dip, dealers said.
City Developments was down 20 cents at 16.70 dollars.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.23 per cent lower on profit-taking amid a lack of fresh leads in the market but selling was well absorbed.
The composite index closed down 3.21 points to 1,381.51.
Profit-taking was broad-based but well absorbed today,” said Cheah King Yoong, head of research at local brokerage SJ Securities.
He said property stocks could become one of the top performing sectors going forward. Tenaga was down 0.20 ringgit at 11.40.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.67 per cent lower as investors pocketed profits from last week's record-breaking rally.
The composite index closed down 15.383 points at 2,286.218 on volume of 3.2 billion shares worth 3.2 trillion rupiah (353.591 million dollars).
Last week, the index gained 74.55 points or 3.3 per cent.
Binarto said apart from profit-taking, weakness in other markets in the region also dampened sentiment for Indonesian stocks.
Bank Danamon pressured the index lower. The stock closed down 700 rupiah or 8.5 per cent at 7,500. Danamon's sharp loss shows that it has made bigger gains recently relative to other banks such as Bank Central Asia, Mandiri Securities institutional dealer Oos Rosady said.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed little changed, with investors finding no lead amid continuing concerns about possible interest rate rises.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 3.31 points to 4,240.36 on turnover worth 134 million dollars (107.6 million US).
A major earthquake in Japan might have contributed to a dip in New Zealand and Australian markets near the close, Williamson added.
Telecom rose one cent to 4.67 dollars.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 0.25 per cent at a new record high in choppy trade.
Dealers said buying was sporadic across the 20-share benchmark index.
The Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index rose 38.5 points to 15,311.22.
The markets were volatile at higher levels. We expect investors to keep locking-in gains, said Hiten Mehta, a fund manager with Fortune Financial Services.
India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS, fell 8.95 rupees or 0.79 per cent to 1,127.9, ahead of its earnings for the first quarter ended June due later Monday.—AFP
