October 27, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 14, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 26: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Friday as investors continued to buy up equities in anticipation of a cut in US interest rates being made next week.

Most in the markets believed the Federal Reserve will announce a 25 basis point cut on Wednesday in a bid to keep the world’s largest economy out of a recession and to help stimulate the troubled US housing sector.

Such hopes also offset any negative sentiment stemming from record oil prices, which surged past 92 dollars per barrel in Asian trade on rising tensions in the Middle East and new US sanctions against Iran.

Hong Kong advanced 1.84 per cent, Kuala Lumpur added 1.5 per cent and Mumbai soared 2.52 per cent with all three benchmarks closing at record highs.

Sydney gained 1.2 per cent and Jakarta was up 1.1 per cent while gains elsewhere were milder. Taipei rose 0.66 per cent, Manila was up 0.55 per cent, Bangkok added 0.13 per cent and Shanghai gained 0.49 per cent.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 1.36 per cent, rising for the first time in three days as investors cheered upbeat corporate earnings from major companies such as Sony and Honda.

The Nikkei-225 index jumped 221.46 points to 16,505.63. Turnover fell to 1.67 billion shares from 1.74 bn on Thursday.

A jump in Sony’s shares spread to other companies and lifted market sentiment.But some players were somewhat cautious as they awaited another batch of results from companies including Nissan Motor and NTT DoCoMo after the close of trade, as well as a key US interest rate decision next week.

The market has largely priced in the Fed’s 25 basis points rate cut, so US share prices might not make huge gains amid the lingering subprime problems.

Also the forex market movement after the Fed decision will provide direction for Japan’s market, Sato said.Sony jumped 450 yen or 8.8 per cent to 5,560 after the world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics said it returned to the black in the fiscal second quarter owing to a weak yen and higher sales of digital cameras.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, up 1.84 per cent, with the key index finishing above the 30,000-point level for the first time, as property stocks extended gains.

Dealers said the sector was buoyed by hopes for an interest rate cut in the US next week.

The Hang Seng index closed up 550.73 points at 30,405.22. Turnover was 157.38 billion Hong Kong dollars (20.30 billion US).

Sino Land outperformed as it surged more than 12 per cent, while Hutchison Whampoa also posted sharp gains.

Mainland banks were mostly higher after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announced a 76 per cent rise in third-quarter earnings.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 1.2 per cent supported by oil and mining stocks and firms exposed to strong Asian economies.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 76.3 points to 6,700.6. Turnover was 1.99 billion shares worth about 10.2 billion dollars (9.2 billion US).

Youssef said mining and financial stocks made gains, with the exception of ANZ Bank which suffered a second day of losses after reporting disappointing results for the year to September on Thursday.

National Australia Bank added 69 cents to 42.70 dollars.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.74 per cent higher on gains in banks after strong earnings by banking giant DBS Group eased worries over the impact from the credit crunch.

Dealers said investors snapped up banking shares after DBS reported solid third quarter earnings that allayed concerns about how local banks may have been hit by the US subprime credit turmoil.

The Straits Timex Index rose 64.41 points to 3,771.55 on volume of 2.54 billion shares worth 3.50 billion Singapore dollars (2.4 billion US).

Gainers outpaced decliners 519 to 306, with 839 issues unchanged.

DBS said its third quarter net profit still grew 11 per cent to 610 million dollars from a year earlier. The subprime uncertainty has been cleared in the third quarter, said David Lum, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.5 per cent higher to hit a fresh record high with investors increasingly convinced there will be an interest rate cut in the US.

Asian markets are benefiting from the protracted effects of the subprime problems on the US economy. As US markets are going no where, funds are flowing into Asian markets to look for better returns, said Pong Teng Siew, the head of research of MIMB Investment Bank.

The composite index closed up 20.08 points at 1,398.35 on volume of 1.91 billion shares, valued at 2.17 billion ringgit (650 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.1 per cent higher as investors cheered strong quarterly earnings at Astra Agro Lestari and Inco.

But share prices came off their late afternoon highs after some market players opted to make quick gains, dealers added.

The composite index closed up 27.77 points at 2,624.43. Volume totalled 4.44 billion shares valued at 5.77 trillion rupiah (632.32 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.95 per cent, led down by leading stocks Telecom and Contact Energy, dealers said.

The NZX-50 index fell 40.43 points to close at 4,226.71 on light turnover worth 83.6 million dollars (63.9 million US).

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose 2.52 per cent to a new record close on, as investors brushed off concerns of large fund outflows due to new rules limiting the anonymous buying of shares by foreign investors.

The 30-share Sensex index rose 472.28 points to 19,243.17.

India’s stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Thursday announced new rules to phase out the anonymous buying of shares by foreign investors.—AFP