HONG KONG, Dec 4: Asian stocks fell on Thursday as dealers absorbed more woeful news from the United States that showed the world’s biggest economy is in for a deep recession.

Most bourses opened up as investors followed a rally on Wall Street, which came despite glum data showing the biggest fall in US private sector jobs for six years and service industry activity diving to its lowest in a decade.

Tokyo lost one percent, Hong Kong 0.6 percent and Seoul 1.6 percent.

And Mumbai surged 5.51 percent on news that inflation had hit a seven-month low on falling commodity prices.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones rose 2.05 per cent overnight.

The ADP National Employment Report showing the US private sector lost 250,000 jobs last month, the largest fall since 2002.

Eyes will now shift to Capitol Hill, where the heads of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor Company were to present their case for a massive government handout to save them from bankruptcy.

Japan’s finance ministry revealed companies there slashed investment in new factories and equipment by 13 per cent in the third quarter, the sharpest drop since comparable records began in 2002.

TOKYO: Japanese shares ended one per cent lower.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 dropped 79.86 points to 7,924.24.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues lost 10.31 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 788.88.

Trade remained subdued with many players waiting on the sidelines.

Honda Motor dropped 6.2 per cent to 1,685 yen and Nikon sank 8.2 per cent to 878 yen.

Sanyo Electric plunged 12.4 per cent to 148 yen after Goldman Sachs rejected a sweetened offer -- reportedly worth 130 yen per share -- from Panasonic for its stake in the troubled electronics maker.

Panasonic dropped 5.2 per cent to 1,034 yen.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day down 78.88 points at 13,509.78, after trading between 13,459.61 and 13,883.87 during the session. Turnover was light at 39.90 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.12 billion US).

Hong Kong-listed shares of ICBC rose 2.3 per cent to $4.00, while Construction Bank climbed 1.2 per cent to 4.29.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed flat.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 ended down 1.4 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 3,532.4, while the broader All Ordinaries shed 8.4 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 3,468.1.

Rival mining giant BHP Billiton fell 1.11 per cent to $27.50 , while Fortescue Metals ended down 9.23 per cent at $2.46. Market turnover was 1.2 billion shares, valued at $4.01 billion.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed flat on Thursday, paring back earlier gains in a market that lacked leads, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed up 3.11 points at 1,643.68 on volume of 1.19 billion shares worth $818 million (535 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares closed slightly lower.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 0.67 of a point or 0.1 per cent to close the day at 846.86.

Genting lost 3.08 per cent at 3.78 ringgit while TM International shed 7.78 per cent at 3.32.

Telekom Malaysia added 2.65 per cent at 3.10 ringgit, Tenaga rose 1.69 per cent at 6.0 ringgit and Maybank gained 1.96 per cent at 5.20.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended 1.1 percent higher.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose 12.79 points to 1,205.32.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed 0.88pc higher.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 23.89 points to 2,730.68.

Contact Energy rose 39 cents to $6.99 on thin volume.

Market leader Telecom fell four cents to $2.39 , and Fletcher Building eased two cents to 5.55.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed up 5.51 per cent on hopes that the central bank could lower interest rates as inflation eased further.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex rose 482.32 points to 9,229.75.—AFP