January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

HONG KONG, Jan 14: Asian shares closed mostly down on Monday as investors braced for earnings reports from key US financial firms expected to post big losses, but Taiwan rose amid optimism after weekend polls.

Singapore posted the biggest fall among Asia's major markets, shedding 2.11 per cent, as Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea also fell.

Investors expect US banks, such as Citigroup, to post big losses in earnings reports due this week in the wake of the country's mortgage default crisis, which has ballooned into a credit crunch threatening an economic slowdown.

A steep sell-off on Wall Street last week also hit sentiment in Asia.

But Taiwan was up 1.79 per cent in the wake of a landslide parliamentary election victory by the opposition Kuomintang, which favours better relations with China.

The Japanese market was shut Monday for a holiday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.48 per cent lower in cautious trade ahead of earnings reports from US financial firms, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed down 398.88 points at 26,468.13. Turnover was 109.67 billion Hong Kong dollars (14.05 billion US).

“The market dropped again to the 26,500 level as major blue-chips all saw strong selling pressure on continued worries over US subprime woes and recession fears,” said Conita Hung, research head at Delta-Asia Securities.

“There are not many good reasons for investors to buy” in the current situation, she said, adding she expected the market to hover between 26,200 and 27,200 during the week.

HKEx was down 12.40 or more than six per cent at 191.80 dollars on institutional selling after it fell below a key support level of 200 dollars.

Sinopec fell nearly 4.8 per cent after China announced a freeze on oil product prices last week.

PC maker Lenovo was down more than 6.8 per cent. China Mobile was down 3.70 at 130.20. HSBC fell 0.20 to 123.40.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed little changed as bargain hunters softened the impact of the huge sell-off on Wall Street last week, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.6 points to 5,980.0 while the broader All Ordinaries closed down 13.5 points at 6,040.9. Turnover was 1.55 billion shares worth 5.42 billion dollars (4.84 billion US).

BHP Billiton finished down six cents at 38.24 dollars, while rival Rio Tinto fell from its intra-day high of 127.50 dollars to close 60 cents lower at 125.00 dollars.

Major banks were lower as Westpac dropped 1.5 per cent to 25.62 dollars.

Commonwealth Bank fell 19 cents to 55.70 dollars, ANZ lost four cents to 25.68 dollars and National Australia Bank shed three cents to 35.17 dollars.

Gold stocks gained with the price of the precious metal at record levels, with Newcrest Mining adding 1.3 per cent to 38.49 dollars.

SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 0.24 per cent higher on gains in the liquor sector, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 13.22 points at 5,497.90 on turnover of 142.25 billion yuan (19.49 billion US dollars).

“The market in general was steady with volatility seen in some sectors. The large falls in US markets resulted in some selling pressure,” said Song Tao, an analyst with Hengtai Securities, referring to Wall Street falls last week.

The Shanghai A-share Index rose 0.24 per cent to 5,770.53. The Shenzhen A-share Index was up 1.07 per cent at 1,652.79.

Chinese liquor firms were in focus with Kweichow Moutai up 3.75 per cent at 224.12 yuan. Hainan Yedao rose by the 10 per cent daily limit to 23.02, while Wuliangye Yibin advanced 1.16 yuan to 46.81.

Gold producers also soared. Shandong Gold-Mining surged 5.64 per cent to 220.35 yuan and Zhongjin Gold jumped 4.19 per cent to 132.45.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.01 yuan to 8.25. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank tumbled 3.9 per cent to 59.19 yuan.

PetroChina fell 0.15 yuan to 30.61. Aluminum Corp. of China closed flat at 42.81 yuan.

The Shanghai B-share Index rose 0.21 per cent to 368.71. The Shenzhen B-share Index was up 0.37 per cent to 724.50.

SEOUL: South Korean shares closed down 0.9 per cent at their lowest level since last August, with investors jittery before earnings announcements by global financial companies this week, dealers said.

The KOSPI index ended down 16.39 points at 1,765.88, the lowest closing level since August 22, 2007 when it hit 1,759.50.

A total of 245 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won (4.8 billion dollars) were traded.

A downturn in Chinese shares due to fears of further moves to cool the mainland's economy had also soured the mood, dealers said.

“Investors have been haunted by growing fears that the US credit crisis is far from an end,” said Woori Investment and Securities research head Park Jong-Hyun.

Shipbuilders fell, with Hyundai Heavy plunging 6.6 per cent to 382,500 and Samsung Heavy down 4.5 per cent to 34,300 won.

SK Telecom advanced 4,000 to 219,500 won. POSCO gained 4,000 to 537,000 won. Samsung Electronics rose 9,000 to 525,000.

Samsung Corp. shed 4.2 per cent to 60,000 after a report that an independent team investigating bribery allegations has searched the office of its chairman Lee Kun-Hee.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.11 per cent lower amid jitters about US economic prospects and ahead of earnings reports by major US financial firms, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index fell 69.20 points to 3,218.14 on volume of 1.92 billion shares worth 2.34 billion Singapore dollars (1.63 billion US).

DBS Group shed 60 cents to close at 19.24 Singapore dollars. City Developments slipped 68 cents to 11.78 dollars.

Singapore Telecommunications gained six cents to close at 4.00. Singapore Airlines closed 38 cents lower at 15.92.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower, breaking a run of record finishes amid weakness in Asia, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 9.18 points to 1,507.04. It had closed at a record level each day last week with investors buoyed by expectations an election will soon be called.

“Profit-taking was expected in view of the recent falls on Wall Street, while the recent spike in Malaysian shares was another incentive for investors to pocket recent gains,” said S. Sharath of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank.

Power supplier Tenaga was up 0.10 ringgit at 9.90 ringgit and Telekom Malaysia was flat at 12.30 while Maybank was steady at 12.80.

BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 0.67 per cent lower amid fears over a possible US economic slowdown, dealers said.

They said investors were also keeping a wary eye on Thailand's domestic politics, as allies of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra struggle to form a coalition government despite their win in last month's elections.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 5.32 points to 791.15 and the blue-chip SET-50 lost 3.87 points to 573.05.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share price closed 0.7 per cent lower in line with regional markets, dealers said.

The Jakarta composite index closed down 19.89 points at 2,810.37.

Investors opted to unload shares in afternoon trade on concern that US financial institutions will announce more subprime-related losses when they release their results as early as this week, .

Media reports have said Merrill Lynch and Citigroup may incur more subprime-related losses and were looking for additional capital injections.

Telkom was down 200 rupiah at 9,850. Bank Mandiri fell 75 to 3,325.

Perusahaan Gas Negara lost 300 to 15,000.

Plantation stocks mostly hit new highs. Sampoerna Agro added 325 to a fresh record 4,750, London Sumatra surged 400 to a fresh record 13,550 and Bakrie Sumatra soared 250 to 2,825, also a fresh record high.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower, snapping a two-day gain amid concerns about a US economic slowdown, dealers said.

The composite index ended down 21.42 points at 3,482.28 while the broader all-share index lost 7.51 points at 2,135.56.

“We (remain) dependent on the US for our exports, employment and investments,” AB Capital Securities said in a note.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country's biggest company by market value, fell 55 pesos to 3,030.

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp.’s A-shares, restricted to Filipinos, fell 1.50 to 59. Its B-shares, which have no ownership restrictions, lost 1.0 to 59.50.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.24 per cent lower as weak sentiment in international markets continued to dog the local bourse, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 47.97 points to 3,824.21 and is down five per cent since the start of the year.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed down 0.48 per cent in line with weak Asian markets but power stocks rose ahead of the nation's biggest flotation by Reliance Power, dealers said.

The 30-share Mumbai stock exchange Sensex fell 99.4 points to 20,728.05.

“The markets saw bouts of buying and selling,” said Manoj Kakaiya, dealer at brokerage ULJK Securities.

Demand for a forthcoming initial public offering by Reliance Power, which aims to raise nearly three billion dollars, could boost sentiment along with strong corporate earnings, he said.—AFP