July 19, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 03, 1428

HONG KONG, July 18: Asian stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday after a tumble in Tokyo amid fears of a sharp correction in the United States due to disappointing earnings.

Most markets had been treading water after mild gains in the US overnight but the results released after the close of trade for Yahoo and Intel had left investors unimpressed and Tokyo responded with a 1.11 per centsell-off.

Investors were also nervous ahead of the release of US inflation data, and a monetary policy report by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke due later in the day, and the release of Chinese inflation and GDP figures due Thursday.

But Tokyo's lead set the early agenda and elsewhere Singapore tumbled 1.84 percent, Sydney fell 0.82 percent, Seoul shed 0.96 percent, Hong Kong was down 0.93 percent, Bangkok was off 0.86 per centand Kuala Lumpur fell 0.60 percent.

TOKYO: Share prices closed down 1.11 per cent on fears of a sell-off on Wall Street following lacklustre results from US corporate heavyweights Intel and Yahoo.

Dealers said worries about the US housing market added to the cautious mood while a weaker dollar dimmed prospects for Japanese exporter earnings.

The Nikkei-225 index dropped 201.69 points to 18,015.58. Turnover climbed to 2.2 billion shares from 2.05 billion Tuesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.93 per cent lower as worries over possible economic tightening measures in China prompted investors to lock in gains.

Dealers said a big drop on the Japanese bourse also prompted investors to take profit following the market's recent rally to record highs.

The Hang Seng index closed down 215.38 points at 22,841.92. Turnover was at 84.07 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.78 billion US).

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.82 per cent lower in cautious trade, with sentiment hit by weaker regional markets as investors anticipated losses on Wall Street later in the day.

Dealers said a sharp downturn in Tokyo pointed to what was likely to happen overnight amid fresh concerns about problems in the US sub-prime mortgage market where less creditworthy borrowers are coming under increasing pressure.

The S&P/ASX 200 shed 52.5 points at 6,329.1. Turnover was of 1.77 billion shares worth 6.29 billion dollars (5.5 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.84 per cent lower on profit-taking ahead of the release of US inflation data and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's monetary policy report.

Dealers said weak regional markets also added to the negative sentiment.

The Straits Times Index tumbled 67.08 points to 3,583.97 on volume of 9.14 billion shares worth 4.31 billion Singapore dollars (2.85 billion US).

Markets will be keen to hear Bernanke's assessment of the mortgage sub-prime sector's troubles and whether there is any major change in the Fed's inflation outlook for the world's biggest economy.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.60 per cent lower on extended profit-taking amid a generally lacklustre market.

The composite index closed down 8.25 points at 1,369.23 on turnover of 1.29 billion shares worth 2.09 billion ringgit (607.56 million dollars).

The market has been lacklustre and continues to be in consolidation mode due to a lack of fresh local leads, said Stephen Soo, technical analyst at TA Securities.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.30 per cent lower as investors cashed in on recent gains in selected stocks led by heavyweight Telkom, amid a lack of fresh incentives.

The composite index closed down 6.751 points at 2,294.591 on volume of 3.2 billion shares worth 3.16 trillion rupiah (348.67 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed little changed, with the market looking for direction in the absence of a clear offshore lead.

The NZX-50 index fell 3.20 points to 4,255.64 on turnover worth 103.1 million dollars (81.8 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices closed flat in choppy trade with sporadic buying seen in property stocks, dealers said.

However, they said software, auto and capital goods fell on profit-taking after rising in previous days.

The Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index rose 11.35 points or 0.07 per cent to 15,301.17.

—AFP