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TOKYO, Feb 7: Asian stock markets ended mixed on Thursday with Tokyo climbing on hopes the government would inject funds into the ailing banking sector while in Hong Kong shares fell on concern over the mobile phone sector.
Elseweher, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were hit by profit-taking ahead of next week’s Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.
Japanese share prices ended four days of losses to gain 1.7 per cent led by a surge in banking stocks amid hopes for emergency policy action by the government.
The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 162.42 points to 9,583.27, climbing back from a new 18-year low marked the previous day.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks fell 1.7 per cent led by telecom shares on continued concerns the awarding of a local mobile licence to a China Unicom associate company will intensify already high levels of competition.
The key Hang Seng index lost 182.71 points to close at 10,409.68.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.3 per cent lower on profit-taking mainly in major resources and gold stocks.
The All Ordinaries index finished 9.8 points down at 3,358.8 while the SP/ASX 200 was down 10.0 points at 3,414.5.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices slid 1.8 per cent on profit-taking ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays and a drop in US stocks. The Straits Times Index declined 31.50 points to 1,717.11, while the broader All Singapore Equities Index shed 7.290 points to 451.31.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks closed 1.1 per cent lower due to profit-taking ahead of next week’s Chinese New Year holiday.
The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index lost 7.54 points to finish at 707.68.
JAKARTA: Indonesian stocks closed down a sharp 2.9 per cent as profit-taking gained momentum following strong earnings last month.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index ended down 13.04 points at 433.17.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks fell 1.2 per cent on concerns about the US economic outlook and worries over market heavyweight Telecom.
The NZSE-40 index shed 24.91 points to 2,102.71.—AFP
