October 18, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 5, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 17: Asian stocks extended their losses in most markets on Wednesday with record oil prices and renewed fears in the US mortgage market resulting in another sell-off on Wall Street overnight.

World oil prices had paused close to record peaks, holding above $87 in New York, on heightened tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels, located in northern Iraq.

This came as remarks, by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke late Monday that the US economic outlook remains murky amid the subprime mortgage crisis, continued to weigh on the world’s largest economy and regional sentiment.

Combined with apprehension ahead of the release of corporate results had benchmarks enduring a second day of selling with Tokyo, down 1.07 per cent, leading falls, while Seoul shed 1.1 per cent.

Mumbai witnessed wild swings after opening 9.15 per cent lower on proposed curbs in derivatives trades, forcing a one hour suspension in trade. Upon reopening the benchmark regained its composure and closed 1.76 per cent down.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices fell sharply for a second straight day, hitting a two-week low below the key 17,000 points level amid renewed nervousness on global markets.

Dealers said sentiment was undermined by overnight falls on Wall Street, where investors were unnerved by soaring oil prices and concerns about the fallout from problems in the US mortgage sector.

Sharp losses in the Indian market, triggered by a regulatory proposal to restrict buying by overseas investors, also dampened sentiment.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 182.61 points to 16,955.31. Volume increased to 2.31 billion shares from 1.91 billion shares Tuesday.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed higher, up 1.19 per cent, as China Mobile, banking stocks and local property developers helped the market recover from morning losses.

The Hang Seng index closed up 344.16 points at 29,298.71. Turnover was heavy at 160.46 billion Hong Kong dollars (20.70 billion US).

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.2 per cent after Wall Street weakness overnight and falls in the key mining sector amid poor coal production figures from Rio Tinto.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 11.9 points at 6,680.1. A total of 2.1 billion shares worth 6.9 billion Australian dollars (6.1 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed marginally higher, on late buying of index-linked stocks, helping to send the benchmark index into positive territory.

Dealers said most sub-sectors ended in the positive column, ignoring the weakness on wall Street and the large selloff in the Indian market after the government there imposed restrictions on foreign buying.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.1 per cent higher after erratic trading, with the main index rebounding from its early losses to finish at a fresh record high.

The composite index closed up 3.38 points at 2,641.59. Volume was 4.53 billion shares worth 6.89 trillion rupiah (757.14 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares ignored overseas weakness and held firm Wednesday with Sky City the star performer.

The NZX-50 index rose 9.67 points to 4,321.84 on turnover worth 152.56 million dollars (117 million US).

The market has held its own despite international markets being weaker overnight Goldman Sachs JB Were dealer Peter Sigley said.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed down 1.76 per cent, recovering from an early dive of more than nine per cent on a proposal to limit buying by overseas investors.

The Sensex index closed down 336.04 points to 18,715.82. Participatory notes are used by anonymous overseas investors to buy into India’s stock market as banks registered to trade in India issue them notes, akin to IOUs, signifying control of the underlying stock.—AFP