October 05, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 22, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 4: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday as cautious investors braced for key US jobs data expected to provide clues about the prospects for interest rates.

The Hong Kong market, which hit a record high earlier in the week, was among the biggest fallers, shedding 1.84 per cent as investors fretted whether its recent gains were sustainable.

Shares in Japan and Australia also fell after stocks had earlier sunk on Wall Street, with investors looking ahead to data due Friday on September unemployment and job creation in the US.

Good employment data could make US interest rate cuts less likely, dashing expectations of lower borrowing costs.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed 0.62 per cent lower, coming off a two-month high as investors took profits ahead of a key US employment report, dealers said.

They said the market followed Wall Street lower amid uncertainty about prospects for US non-farm payrolls figures, which could be key to whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again this month.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares fell 107.40 points to 17,092.49, a day after its highest close since July 31.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 8.41 points or 0.51 per cent to 1,655.60.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 1,081 to 525, with 110 issues unchanged. Turnover dropped to 2.02 billion shares from 2.19 billion Wednesday.

Stocks trod water above 17,000 points as investors refrained from active buying ... ahead of the US employment report, said Toshihiko Matsuno, senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.84 per cent lower, falling back below 27,000 points, as investors locked in profits after a recent rally, dealers said.

They said China Mobile, property stocks and oil counters led the declines, while HSBC, Hutchison Whampoa and MTR Corp provided some support.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 505.96 points at 26,973.98, off a low of 26,746.63 and a high of 27,423.11. Turnover was 147.54 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Turnover dropped from Wednesday’s record high of nearly 210 billion Hong Kong dollars (27 billion US) but was still in triple digits as profit-taking gathered pace in late trade.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices fell 1.4 per cent as profit-taking forced the market to retreat from record highs, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 93.0 points or 1.4 per cent from Wednesday’s record high to close at 6,566.9, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 85.5 points or 1.3 per cent at 6,579.9.

Market volume was 1.72 billion shares worth 6.09 billion dollars (5.34 billion US), with 756 stocks down, 497 up and 336 unchanged.

Andrew Sekley, head of Australian equities at broking firm Intersuisse, said investors were wary of pushing the market higher ahead of the release of US non-farm payrolls data on Friday in the US.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 0.78 per cent higher, supported by strong gains in Singapore Airlines, dealers said.

They said property counters and construction-related stocks also buoyed the index after a record-breaking run that pushed it to record highs on Monday and Tuesday.

The Straits Times Index (STI) finished 29.19 points higher at 3,783.81 on volume of 3.77 billion shares worth 2.74 billion dollars (1.86 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.2 per cent higher as buying in some blue-chips offset profit-taking amid investor caution, dealers said.

Investor sentiment seemed cautious ahead of the release of a key US employment report on Friday, they said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 2.88 points at 1,369.84.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices finished 0.9 per cent higher after volatile trade, with the index closing at a record high on late buying amid optimism over corporate earnings prospects, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 21.57 points at 2,473.16, off a high of 2,478.51. The day’s low was 2,473.16. Volume was 6.26 billion shares valued at 4.97 trillion rupiah (544.06 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.64 per cent in line with other Asian markets and following a regulatory ruling that cut a major energy company’s prices, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 27.89 points to close at 4,299.98 on thin turnover worth 94.7 million dollars (71.3 million US).—AFP