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HONG KONG, Feb 28: Asian stocks closed mixed on Thursday with investors focusing on domestic political and economic issues for a lead after a lacklustre performance by Wall Street overnight.
This was particularly the case in Bangkok which surged 1.21 per cent after street protests failed to materialise with the returning home of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
But on the other side of the ledger, Sydney slumped 2.0 per cent amid increased speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia is poised to again raise interest rates, when it meets next week.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices shed 0.75 per cent, pulling back from a six-week high after a slide in industrial output and a lacklustre performance on Wall Street overnight.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 105.79 points to 13,925.51. Volume declined to 1.86 billion shares from 2.08 billion Wednesday.
It was a price adjustment within our expectation after the Nikkei regained the psychologically important level, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Management.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.44 per cent higher led by property stocks and China financials, although momentum was weak.
The Hang Seng index closed up 107.85 points at 24,591.69. Turnover was 82.39 billion Hong Kong dollars (12.8 billion US).
Momentum was weak amid low turnover ... as investors turned cautious ahead of major US data tonight and tomorrow, said Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Financial group.
SYDNEY:
The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 116 points at 5,651.2. Turnover was 1.6 billion shares worth 6.38 billion dollars (5.97 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.66 per cent lower in cautious trading as concerns about the health of the US economy lingered.
Dealers said investors opted to take profits after three consecutive sessions of gains.
The Straits Times Index closed 20.30 points lower at 3,074.15 on volume of 1.30 billion shares worth 1.68 billion Singapore dollars (1.21 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower after Wall Street’s flat ending overnight prompted selling among cautious investors.
The composite index lost 8.35 points at 1,368.27 on volume of 661 million shares, valued at 1.4 billion ringgit ($438 million).
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.6 per cent higher, led by Telkom, car-maker Astra International and coal producer Bumi Resources on hopes they will report strong 2007 earnings.
The composite index finished up 16.18 points at 2,756.31. Volume was 4.16 billion shares valued at 5.36 trillion rupiah (589.6 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.48 per cent higher as investors took heart from positive results by local companies, ignoring falls in Australia.
The NZX-50 index gained 17.20 points to 3,579.57 on turnover worth 118.08 New Zealand dollars (95.66 million US).
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed flat a day before the closely-watched federal budget for the next financial year starting April is unveiled.—AFP
