HONG KONG, Dec 18: Asian stocks saw modest gains on Thursday as investors watched out for interest rate cuts, with Japan looking poised to slash its rate near zero to tackle a sharp economic downturn, dealers said.

Tokyo rose 0.64 per cent, Hong Kong 0.2 per cent and Sydney 0.3 per cent.

Markets were unmoved by a record 2.2 million barrels per day cut in output by the OPEC oil cartel on Wednesday that was announced as it tries to battle falling prices.

The Bank of Japan on Thursday opened a two-day meeting which could cut interest rates down from the already low 0.3 per cent.

The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed its benchmark rate to virtually zero, sending the dollar plunging against the yen.

The downward pressure on the dollar/yen won’t ease unless a forex intervention is undertaken, Takero Inaizumi, head of the equities department of Mizuho Investors Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed 0.64 per cent higher.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 54.71 points to close at 8,667.23.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.23 points or 0.03 per cent to finish at 838.69.

Mizuho Financial Group jumped 8.1 per cent to 256,800 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group soared 8.5 per cent to 384,000 yen.

Real estate firm Mitsui Fudosan rose 4.3 per cent to 1,400 yen.

Toyota Motor Corp. ended down 2.3 per cent at 2,960 yen. Honda Motor Co.

HONG KONG: Shares closed 0.2 per cent higher.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 37.29 points to 15,497.81 on turnover worth 52.26 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.75 billion US).

Blue-chip developer Sino Land surged 9.3 per cent to 8.85 dollars, Wharf Holdings jumped 8.3 per cent to $21.65 and Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 3.3 per cent to $70.95.

HSBC bank dropped 3.4 per cent to $81.60 .

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 0.3 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 10.6 points to 3,581.2, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 6.7 points at 3,521.7.

A total of 2.49 billion shares worth $9.7 billion (US$6.8 billion US) was traded.

Miner BHP Billiton rose 0.2 per cent to 31.00.

In the energy sector, Woodside lost 6.08 per cent to 33.81, Santos dropped 3.75 per cent to 14.10 and Oil Search fell or 4.87 per cent to 4.49.

Qantas airlines gained 7.5 per cent to 2.43.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.10 per cent higher. The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed up 19.66 points at 1,798.95 on volume of 891 million shares worth 832 million dollars (580 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares closed 2.1 per cent higher.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 15.0 points to close the day at 880.50.

IOI Corp rose 9.7 per cent to 3.62 ringgit, Sime Darby added 2.7 per cent to 5.65 and Kuala Lumpur Kepong climbed 4.1 per cent to 9.00.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended 0.9 per cent lower.

The Jakarta Composite Stock Index closed 12.22 points down at 1,351.76 in thin trade.

Telecommunications giant Telkom tumbled 5.6 per cent to 6,750 rupiah.

Bank Mandiri lost 1.2 per cent to 2,100 rupiah and coal miner Bumi Resources sank 2.2 per cent to 890.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed 0.43 per cent higher.

The benchmark NZX-50 index ended 11.66 points higher at 2,707.59 on turnover worth $74.3 million (44.1 million US).

Fletcher Building rose eight cents to $6.15, while Contact Energy added 27 cents to 7.20.Market leader Telecom bucked the trend in the top rank, falling one cent to 2.34.

MUMBAI: Indian shares rose 3.72 per cent, above the key 10,000 points level on hopes that the central bank could cut rates as annual inflation eased to a nine-month low, dealers said.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 361.14 points to 10,076.43.—AFP