September 11, 2007	Tuesday	Sha'aban 28, 1428

HONG KONG, Sept 10: Asian stock markets ended mostly weaker on Monday, hit by heavy losses on Wall Street after a surprise drop in US payrolls sparked fears the world’s largest economy may be heading for recession.

But the region’s bourses finished well off their lows for the day, while some, such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, managed to end in positive territory.

Investors are now pinning their hopes on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut to shield the economy from the fallout from the US housing slump.

Hope of a US rate cut helped the main European bourses to eke out modest gains at the start of the week after steep falls on Friday.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 2.22 per cent as investors took fright at a surprise fall in US payrolls and a contraction of the Japanese economy.

Dealers said exporter shares were particularly hard hit after the dollar slumped against the yen and other currencies as US job losses raised concerns that the world’s largest economy may be heading for recession.

The Nikkei-225 index dropped 357.19 points to 15,764.97. Turnover rose to 1.76 billion shares from 1.59 billion on Friday.

Sony plunged 340 yen to 5,330.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed little changed as strong gains in the local stock market operator helped a recovery from early losses on worries over the US economy.

Dealers said the market opened sharply lower following heavy falls on Wall Street Friday after disappointing US non-farm payrolls data.

But it recovered steadily as Hong Kong Exchanges Clearing (HKEx) surged to an all-time high following news that the Hong Kong government has raised its stake in the stock market operator to 5.88 per cent.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 1.4 per cent lower on worries the US economy was heading for a slowdown and lessen demand for key commodities such as copper and nickel.

Dealers said weak US job figures had added to the ongoing volatility caused by the credit crunch in the US subprime market.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 87.2 points at 6,191.2. Volume traded was 1.93 billion shares, worth 5.37 billion dollars (4.4 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.35 per cent lower on concerns the US economy is slowing, possibly into a recession, after a surprise fall in US payrolls.

The Straits Times Index fell 47.10 points to 3,441.87 on volume of 2.44 billion shares worth 1.86 billion Singapore dollars (1.22 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 1.1 per cent in line with regional bourses following fears the US economy may slip into a recession.

The market will remain volatile and investors will still look to the US for direction, he said.

The composite index closed down 14.20 points at 1,290.70 on volume of 871.429 million shares, valued at 1.306 billion ringgit (373 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares prices closed 1.4 per cent lower as investors pocketed recent sharp gains after seeing Wall Street’s slide on weaker than expected employment data.

The composite index closed down 30.26 points at 2,209.64 on volume of 3.2 billion shares worth 2.86 trillion rupiah (303.70 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.22 per cent The NZX-50 index fell 9.08 points to close at 4,142.89 on thin turnover worth 43.7 million dollars (30.1 million US).

Global factors such as US interest rates were likely to be more influential than local factors this week, with the Fed due to meet on September 18, Macquarie Equities broker Kerry Porter said.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed flat as Asian and European markets recovered after initially slipping on weak US jobs data. The 30-share Sensex index closed up 6.41 points at 15,596.83.

The markets reacted to global and local news. The undertone remains weak with the Sensex likely to be rangebound until the US Federal Reserve meeting next week, Advait Date, dealer at brokerage BHH Securities.—AFP