July 26, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 10, 1428

HONG KONG, July 25: Asian stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with several markets coming off record highs after sharp Wall Street losses sparked by fresh concerns at growing problems in US sub-prime mortgages, dealers said.

They said New York's tumble of 1.62 per cent was too serious to be safely ignored and investors took some profits as a result but most centres finished off their lows, reflecting the underlying positive tone in the region.

Similarly Chinese stocks showed no nerves at the New York sell-off, putting on nearly 3.0 per cent to very near record levels as investors counted on strong corporate results to sustain the recent advance.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices slumped 0.80 per cent to a nearly one-month low on worries about the US housing market which spooked Wall Street badly overnight, dealers said.

They said investors were also cautious as the yen strengthened against the dollar to below the 120 yen level for the first time for over two months, undermining Japanese exporter earnings.

Volume rose to 2.0 billion shares from 1.9 billion shares on Tuesday.

From a technical point of view, investor worries seem to have eased as the market closed with the Nikkei index above 17,800 points, said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.47 per cent lower on profit-taking after Wall Street's sharp fall overnight, with declines spread across the board led by financials, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index lost 110.70 points at 23,362.18, off a low of 23,228.56 and a high of 23,439.83. Turnover was heavy at 100.5 billion dollars (12.88 billion US).

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 1.3 per cent lower after investor confidence was hit badly by a heavy overnight sell-off on Wall Street on fresh concerns about the US housing sector outlook, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed 81.8 points to end at 6,340.5 while the broader All Ordinaries Index slipped 77.5 points to 6,378.0.

Turnover was 1.9 billion shares worth 5.7 billion dollars (5.0 billion US) with falls outnumbering rises 829 to 440 and 342 stocks closing unchanged.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.86 per cent lower, tracking regional losses after US stocks went into a tailspin on increasing concerns about the prospect of a serious US housing slump, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index lost 31.59 points to 3,633.54, pulling back from Tuesday's record close. Volume reached 3.67 billion shares worth 2.94 billion dollars (1.95 billion US), with 618 stocks down, 253 up and 669 unchanged.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.9 per cent lower as Wall Street's sharp pullback overnight sparked profit-taking after the key index hit a record high the previous day, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 12.45 points to 1,379.73. Volume was 2.13 billion shares worth 3.29 billion ringgit (963 million dollars) while losers led gainers 583 to 389 with 213 stocks unchanged.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.3 per cent lower, with the main index snapping a four-day record-breaking run as investors took profits across the board after heavy losses on Wall Street, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index lost 6.58 points at 2,394.565 on volume of 6.19 billion shares worth 5.37 trillion rupiah (593.50 million dollars). Decliners led advancers 124 to 97, with 54 stocks unchanged.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed little changed, holding steady despite weakness in key overseas markets, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 3.68 points to 4,324.97 on turnover worth 200.9 million dollars (161.9 million US).

He said the focus was on stocks aimed at the domestic economy, with Contact Energy leading the way to hit a record high of 9.60 dollars before closing up 17 cents at 9.54.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell 0.61 per cent in volatile trade, snapping a four-day record breaking run on weak global trends as investors locked in profits, dealers said.

The Mumbai benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 95.59 points to 15,699.33.

Investors booked profits, keeping in mind the derivatives' expiry. —AFP