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HONG KONG, Aug 27: Asian shares closed higher on Monday after strong gains on Wall Street at the end of last week were triggered by stronger than expected new homes data in the United States.
This helped relieve some of the fears over US subprime mortgage loans, which for the past month have caused chaos on international markets, until late trade when investors again turned slightly nervous.
Many opted to take some profits as they await the release of US existing home sales data for July later on Monday with players anxious to see how the existing market performed against the backdrop of the subprime loans crisis.
This resulted in Tokyo closing up a modest 0.32 per cent, Seoul gained 0.70 per cent, Taipei also rose 0.32 per cent as Wellington was up 0.78 per cent and strong corporate profits heped Sydney to a sharp gain of 1.6 per cent.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed 0.32 per cent higher as early gains shrank in late trading amid growing caution ahead of new US housing data.
But investors here “grew more cautious” in late trading, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity department head at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 52.42 points to 16,301.39 as trading volume fell to 1.47 billion shares from 1.59 billion on Friday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed at record highs as China Mobile and other mainland firms posted strong gains.
The Hang Seng closed up 655.84 points at 23,577.73. Turnover was very heavy at 126.35 billion Hong Kong dollars (16.2 billion US).
SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.6 per cent, boosted by Friday’s gain on Wall Street, robust earnings reports and upbeat outlooks from local companies.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 96.7 points at 6,185.2 on volume of 2.0 billion shares worth 5.7 billion (4.75 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.56 per cent higher on better-than-expected US housing data released at the end of last week which triggered a rally on Wall Street.
The Straits Times Index rose 18.99 points to 3,388.44 on volume of 2.06 billion shares worth 1.92 billion Singapore dollars (1.26 billion US).
“Given Asia’s high dependence on exports and external markets, it is likely premature to argue that Asia has decoupled from the US,” Citigroup said in a note to clients.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.4 per cent higher on cautious trading, with last week’s gains on Wall Street and positive US home sales data failing to excite the market.
Dealers said investors had yet to shake off their jitters following last week’s market downturn prompted by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis.
The composite index gained 4.75 points to 1,278.27 on volume of 1.3 billion shares valued at 1.8 billion ringgit (517 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Jakarta share prices finished 1.5 per cent higher as investors continued to build up positions following recent sell-offs, with Wall Street’s rise Friday providing a further boost to sentiment.
The main index has now gained by a cumulative 14 per cent since the US Federal Reserve cut its discount rate by a half per centage point to 5.75 per cent on August 18.
The composite index closed up 32.24 points at 2,175.35 on volume of 5.4 billion shares worth 4.3 trillion rupiah (457.93 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 0.78 per cent in light trading, with a lack of leads leaving most investors on the sidelines.
The NZX-50 index gained 31.98 points to 4,084.43 on a modest turnover worth $66.24 million (US$47.5 million).
ABN Amro Craigs retail equities adviser Nigel Scott said the New Zealand dollar was steady, and that investors had adopted a wait-and-see stance after the credit-crunch turmoil of recent weeks.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices surged 2.89 per cent, led by strong Asian markets which were fuelled by last week’s gains on Wall Street.
Dealers said an absence of negative political news, linked to a row between the government and its communist allies over a nuclear deal with the United States, also aided sentiment.
The Sensex rose 417.51 points to 14,842.38.—AFP
