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HONG KONG, Sept 1: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday as the cost of crude eased after a US government decision to release oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dealers said.
They said the move to help refineries left short of crude after Hurricane Katrina battered platforms in the country’s south had eased worries of a shortage, and the price of oil fell while regional markets rose.
However, Kuala Lumpur bucked the trend with national car maker Proton leading the market sharply lower after it posted a quarterly loss.
TOKYO: Share prices closed at a fresh four-year high as investors brushed aside worries about high oil prices and bet on a recovery in the world’s number two economy.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 93.37 points to close at 12,506.97 on heavy turnover of 2.0bn shares.
In Tokyo, stocks gained across almost all sectors, though not financials.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.61 per cent higher, led by property stocks on hopes that a government land auction this month will boost the sector, with Wall Street’s gains overnight also helping sentiment.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 240.20 points at 15,143.75. Turnover was 23.08 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.96 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 1.14pc higher on broad-based support as investors cast aside concerns about high oil prices.
The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index was up 50.8 points at 4,497.6. Turnover was 1.01 billion shares worth US$3.01bn.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.88 per cent higher, boosted by gains in banking and property stocks.
The Straits Times Index added 20.11 points to 2,295.54. Volume totalled 947 million shares worth US$539 million.
Banking stocks were also firmer led by United Overseas Bank which gained 10 cents to 14.30, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp advanced five cents to 6.30 and DBS was 10 cents up at 15.70.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.43 per cent lower led by a slump in national carmaker Proton and other blue chips.
The composite index shed 3.89 points to 909.67 and volume traded was 343.52 million shares worth 781.31 million ringgit (207.24 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.03 per cent lower amid investor disappointment with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s announcement that the long-awaited plan to hike domestic fuel prices may be implemented only after October.
The composite index closed down 10,860 points at 1,039.230 on volume of 1.54 billion shares worth US$123.05 million.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.44 per cent higher Thursday following gains in market leader Telecom.
The NZSX-50 index closed up 14.66 points at 3,367.78 on turnover worth US$84.9 million.
Telecom shares, responsible for more than half of Thursday’s turnover, closed five cents higher at $6.13.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed higher with fresh buying in software stocks after a record outsourcing deal for India’s to largest software exporters.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 70.72 points to close at 7,876.15. Turnover was robust at US$949m.—AFP
