August 14, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 29, 1428

HONG KONG, Aug 13: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Monday in a cautious consolidation after central banks moved to bolster confidence in the financial markets following last week's rout.

Central banks from Japan to Australia and Europe to the United States injected liquidity into the system to fend of any credit crunch in response to the US subprime mortgage crisis.

Those mortgages, made out to risky borrowers, had underpinned a collapse in related hedge funds and sparked a massive global sell-off in equities which has continued since late July.

Carefully word statements have also been issued by central bankers over the past two trading days seeking to assuage investor concerns and on the day some confidence was seen returning to the markets.

However, anxieties were expected to continue until the full extent of subprime losses are known.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices ended narrowly mixed, gaining some respite from recent volatility as central bank action to fend off a credit crunch comforted jittery investors.

But dealers the mood was cautious as the market waited anxiously to see whether Wall Street could extend Friday's late recovery in the face of deep concerns about problems in the US mortgage sector.

The Nikkei-225 index closed up 35.96 points at 16,800.05. Turnover dropped to 2.47 billion shares from 3.35 billion on Friday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.45 per cent higher as index heavyweight China Mobile gained on expectations that it will report strong first-half results this week.

Dealers said China Mobile was also getting a boost from a target price upgrade by Morgan Stanley, while property stocks helped the market stage a mild rebound after steep falls Friday.

However, trade was volatile and volume relatively light as many investors stayed on the sidelines amid worries that the US subprime mortgage crisis will snare more hedge funds and financial institutions, they added.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 1.3 per cent after central banks around the world moved to stabilise debt markets by pumping billions of dollars into their systems.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 75.6 points at 6,011.6 on volume of 2.15 billion shares worth 5.73 billion Australian dollars (4.86 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.64 per cent higher, recovering from early losses on worries over the global impact of the troubled US subprime mortgage market.

The Straits Times Index added 21.43 points to 3,380.61 on volume of 2.03 billion shares valued at 2.09 billion Singapore dollars (1.38 billion US).

A dealer with a local brokerage said investors were reluctant to re-enter the market despite the sharp falls because of fears that US subprime woes will worsen.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares prices closed 0.70 per cent higher but trade was mixed amid continued jitters over the US subprime mortgage crisis.

The composite index gained 8.78 points to 1,296.48 on volume of 869.14 milion shares, valued at 1.49 billion ringgit.

The market is still cautious, and will continue to be so until investors get a clearer picture of the US subprime fallout, said Cheah King Yoong, head of research at SJ Securities.

In the immediate term, I would expect the market to move sideways, he said.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.20 per cent higher, recovering from heavy losses thanks to late buying in blue chips which were hammered by fears over US subprime lending problems.

However, losses in index heavyweight Telkom and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) capped the market's upside.

The composite index closed up 4.06 points at 2,211.46. Volume was 6.28 billion shares worth 10.83 trillion rupiah (115.89 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed down 0.97 per cent, as investors remained in a negative frame of mind after last week's turmoil in world markets.

The NZSX-50 index fell 39.68 points to 4,070.16 on turnover worth 96.2 million dollars (71.5 million US).

Forsyth Barr broker David Price said the weakness of the local market was surprising, given signs that other markets were stabilising after the world's major central banks pumped liquidity into their financial systems to try to head off a global credit crunch.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose one per cent as sentiment across global markets improved after central banks pumped cash into the banking system to ease fears of a US credit crunch.

Dealers said buying was seen in automobile, metal and banking stocks.

The 30-share Sensex index closed up 148.96 points to 15,017.21.—AFP