October 04, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 21, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 3: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday as investors paused for breath to evaluate whether recent record highs by a clutch of bourses portend a correction.

Hong Kong led the decliners, falling 2.55 per cent to close below the 28,000 points level, as investors realised some profits following the Hang Seng’s surge to a record high Tuesday.

Australia, Singapore and Indonesia were also down or flat after setting records earlier in the week.

But Japanese share prices rose 0.90 per cent to a two-month high as worries about the global economic and financial impact of a US-led credit crunch eased.

The mixed performance in Asia resembled a similar earlier effort on Wall Street, where investors took a step back to assess the Dow Jones index’s recent record run.

The markets in mainland China and Seoul were shut.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 0.90 per cent at a two-month high as worries about the global fallout from problems in the US mortgage sector continued to recede, dealers said.

They said investors were encouraged that the benchmark Nikkei index had managed to hold above the 17,000 points level, which it topped Tuesday for the first time in almost two months.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares gained 153.11 points to 17,199.89, the highest closing level since July 31.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 24.22 points or 1.48 per cent to 1,664.01.

Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,260 to 367, with 93 issues unchanged.

Turnover rose to 2.19 billion shares from 2.03 billion Tuesday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 2.55 per cent lower after an erratic session as investors realised profits amid mounting fears the market is set for a correction following a record-breaking rally, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed down 719.81 points at 27,479.94, after moving in a range between 27,245.48 and a new all-time high of 28,871.04.

The previous all-time high was 28,256.80, achieved on Tuesday.

MUMBAI: Trading extended to 1045 GMT from 1000 GMT until October 9.—AFP