July 24, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 08, 1428

HONG KONG, July 23: Asian stocks markets closed mostly higher on Monday, getting over heavy losses on Wall Street at the end of last week as some took a strong Chinese performance as a lead to fresh highs, dealers said.

They said a fall of more than one per cent in New York Friday on disappointment at results from Caterpillar and Google made for a weak start generally and put Tokyo, down 1.07 per cent, further under pressure as investors there fretted ahead of upper house elections this weekend.

Mumbai posted its third consecutive record finish, adding 1.07 per cent, while Jakarta matched that performance with a gain of 0.6 per cent.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices lost just over one per cent, dropping below the key 18,000 points level after a sell-off Friday on Wall Street sparked by lacklustre earnings news, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 194.29 points or 1.07 per cent to 17,963.64. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares dropped 18.88 points or 1.06 per cent to 1,757.29.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 1,430 to 233, with 64 stocks unchanged.

Turnover fell to 2.2 billion shares from 2.6 billion Friday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices rose 0.32 per cent for another record finish as investors picked up China stocks and some blue chips following sharp gains on mainland bourses, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 73.66 points at 23,365.56, off a low of 23,152.54 and a new all-time high 23,389.94. Turnover was 84.65 billion dollars (10.85 billion US).

The (People's Bank of China's) decision to raise rates last Friday removed much of the uncertainty in the short term for both the mainland and Hong Kong markets, said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial Group.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.5 per cent lower on profit-taking after they hit record highs Friday, taking their cue from a sell-off on Wall Street at the end of last week, dealers said.

They said heavy losses in New York Friday after disappointing results from Caterpillar dampened sentiment, along with slowly growing unease about the problems in the US mortgage market, especially among weaker borrowers.

Sharp gains in the Chinese markets despite the third interest rate hike this year on Friday helped eased concerns over a possible sharp reaction to the move, which following blistering second quarter growth figures.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.44 per cent lower on profit-taking after a sell-off on Wall Street Friday, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index dropped 16.03 points to 3,635.35. Volume was 3.69 billion shares worth 2.62 billion dollars (1.74 billion US), with declines leading gains 479 to 402, with 663 stocks unchangedn.

Market sentiment remained strong despite the pullback, said Singapore's DBS Group.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed flat in choppy trade marked by profit-taking in the blue chips, dealers said.

The said Wall Street's sharp downturn on Friday and China's monetary tightening plan also had a negative impact on the local bourse even as the Chinese markets themselves rose sharply.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipped 0.83 points at 1,381.53. Volume was 1.645 billion shares worth 2.67 billion ringgit (785 million dollars) while gainers led losers 507 to 434.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices rose 0.6 per cent to a new all-time high as investors remained upbeat about key corporate earnings for the first-half due out beginning this week, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 13.81 points at 2,380.21, its intraday high, and off a low of 2,344.123. Volume was eight billion shares worth 6.2 trillion rupiah (683.35 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealands share prices lower. At the same time, the ongoing stock offerings continue to drain market liquidity.

Arroyo’s speech is expected to focus on her achievements in the past 12 months but de Leon said investors were more interested in knowing what she intends to do in the last three share prices closed 0.32 per cent lower, under pressure after heavy losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 13.74 points to 4,306.54 on turnover worth 130.5 million dollars (104.2 million US). Falls led gains 56 to 49.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices jumped 1.07 pc to a third consecutive record finish on sustained foreign investor interest in the benchmark stocks, dealers said.

The Sensex closed up 166.65 points to 15,732.2, coming off an intraday record of 15,773.37.

Overseas funds have pumped 9.6 billion dollars into Indian equities so far this year, topping the 7.99 billion dollars invested in all 2006, pushing gains on the Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index to nearly 14 per cent so far this year.—AFP