HONG KONG, June 26: Stocks in Asia were mixed on Thursday as uncertainty about the US economy lingered after the Fed kept interest rates unchanged and oil companies lost out as crude prices fell.

Tokyo saw a fall for a sixth straight day as the Fed’s decision to keep rates at 2 per cent -- without any sign they will rise in the near future -- kept them fearful further problems may lie ahead.

Shanghai and Hong Kong felt the repercussions of cheaper oil as investors quickly sold oil stocks to make profits on earlier rises.

Of the major markets the biggest gainer of the day was Sydney, which rose 1.3 per cent as banks looked favourably on the Fed’s rate decision.

Singapore also fell slightly, while Taipei dropped 0.55 per cent and Seoul remained flat.

In other markets Mumbai was the biggest gainer, climbing 1.42 per cent, while Manila, Wellington and Jakarta also saw rises.

TOKYO: Shares closed marginally lower, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index slipped 7.60 points or 0.05 per cent to 13,822.32, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 1.29 points or 0.10 per cent to 1,344.79.

Resource-linked issues were hit by a drop in crude oil prices, with Nippon Oil falling 3.1 per cent to 685 yen.

Electric Power Development Co., or J-Power, tumbled 6.8 per cent to 3,810 yen after a majority of its shareholders rejected a demand by a British hedge for the energy giant to double its dividend.

Sony gained 2.8 per cent to 5,060 yen and Tokyo Electron added 1.3 per cent to 6,390 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 0.6 per cent to 858,000 yen. The bank said Wednesday that it would invest 500 million pounds (986 million dollars) in the British bank Barclays, which has been hit by the credit crunch.

HONG KONG: Stocks closed down 0.79 per cent, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index ended down 179.49 points, at 22,455.67. Turnover was 59.46 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.62 billion US).

Offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC fell 1.9 per cent on lower oil prices, while PetroChina slid 1.3 per cent.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.3 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 69.2 points at 5,307 while the broader All Ordinaries rose 58.4 points to 5421.5.

A total of 2.08 billion stocks worth some 7.26 billion dollars (6.9 billion US dollars) were traded, with 701 stocks up, 592 stocks down and 408 unchanged.

Commonwealth Bank rose 1.96 dollars to 40.90, ANZ was up 38 cents at 19.00, National Australia Bank climbed 66 cents to 28.06 and Westpac gained 84 cents to 21.39. St George Bank put on 1.18 to 28.90.

BHP Billiton added 23 cents to 43.95 and takeover target Rio Tinto lost 32 cents to 136.18.

Gold miner Newcrest added 30 cents to 25.90.

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.19 per cent lower, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 5.67 points to 2,980.95 on low volume of 1.11 billion shares worth 1.46 billion Singapore dollars (1.07 billion US).

DBS fell six cents to 19.00, UOB rose four cents to 19.02 and OCBC gained six cents to 8.39.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.5 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index dropped 5.22 points to 1,203.89.

The market is likely to drift within 1188-1214 range in the near term, he added.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.33 per cent higher, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 10.67 points to 3,291.97.

Market leader Telecom rose a cent to 3.63 dollars, Contact Energy gained five cents to 8.50, and Fletcher Building was up eight cents at 6.73.

MUMBAI: Indian shares rose 1.42 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 201.75 points to 14,421.82.—AFP