May 16, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

HONG KONG, May 15: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday with a clutch of markets hitting their highest levels in a number of months after oil prices fell and hopes grew that the financial crisis was waning.

The Japanese bourse rose nearly one per cent to close at its highest level since January, while South Korean shares surged more than two per cent to their highest point since December. The Indian market also jumped over two per cent.

The Tokyo market shook off official data showing core machinery orders fell by 8.3 per cent in March. Analysts continue to expect Japan to report Friday continued brisk economic growth due to solid exports to emerging nations.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 0.94 per cent at a fresh four-month high after overnight gains on Wall Street and an upbeat earnings outlook from electronics giant Sony, dealers said.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 133.19 points to end at 14,251.74, the highest closing level since January 10.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 19.83 points or 1.44 per cent to 1,392.87.

Volume rose to 2.45 billion shares from 2.21 billion shares on Wednesday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed little changed, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed down 19.77 points at 25,513.71. Turnover was 80.16 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.28 billion US).

Bank of East Asia rose 3.39 per cent after Goldman Sachs upgraded the Hong Kong bank to “buy” from “neutral” on brighter earnings prospects.

HSBC lost 0.37 per cent at 134.80, China Mobile shed 0.3 per cent at 132.10 and Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 0.95 per cent at 136.10.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed 0.3 per cent higher, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 18.0 points at 5,890.7, its highest close since mid-January, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 24.6 points or 0.4 per cent to 5,964.9. Volume was 7.2 billion dollars (6.8 billion US).

CMC markets senior dealer Dominic Vaughan said the market was “well bid today” despite a fall in BHP Billition, which rose in the previous session on rumours of possible Chinese investment.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.5 per cent higher, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 6.41 points at 1,294.15.

Continued interest in plantation stocks would ensure an upside bias for the local bourse, said Phua Kwee Hock, an analyst at SJ Securities.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed little changed, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 0.47 points at 2,449.81.

The Indonesian economy grew at an annual rate of 6.28 per cent in the first quarter.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.39 per cent lower, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 14.32 points to 3,614.23.

Retail sales for the March quarter fell the most for 11 years.

Telecom fell seven cents to 3.82 dollars, Contact Energy was down 14 cents at 8.77 and Fletcher Building dropped 17 cents to 8.05.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 2.21 per cent, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex rose 375.19 points to 17,353.54.

After a jittery two weeks, buying has emerged through local mutual funds,said Bhaskar Kapadia, a partner with brokerage Pyramid Securities.—AFP