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HONG KONG, Aug 25: Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday with investors taking to the sidelines ahead of a key-note address by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
Dealers said investors were hoping the speech at a Kansas City economic symposium would deliver some insights on the US economy amid mixed signals on the direction of interest rates and economic growth.
Tokyo was perhaps the region's best indicator, rising a mild 0.14 per cent, but across the markets dealers said anticipation ahead Bernanke's speech was cited for maintaining investor caution.
TOKYO: Share prices closed slightly lower, shedding early gains as investors turned cautious ahead of a speech from the US central bank chief.
The Nikkei-225 index closed down 21.96 points to 15,938.66. Volume was 1.49 billion shares, unchanged from Thursday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.43 per cent higher as select blue chips like China Mobile and HSBC led a technical rebound following the market's sharp fall Thursday.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 72.41 points at 16,955.45. Turnover was 24.14 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.1 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.72 per cent amid speculation a formal takeover bid for Coles Myer was imminent and with bargain hunters moving in after Thursday's sharp fall.
The SP/ASX 200 rose 35.8 points to 5,023.6. Market turnover was 1.34 billion shares worth 6.67 billion dollars (5.0 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.29 per cent higher Friday but sentiment was cautious ahead of a key speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.
The Straits Times Index added 7.1 points to 2,453.21. Volume was 940.21 million shares worth 932.94 million Singapore dollars (637 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed slightly higher in thin trade, with sentiment still fragile ahead of the central bank's interest rate decision due out later in the evening.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.88 per cent lower on extended profit-taking led by index heavyweight Astra International.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.45 per cent higher, with market leader Telecom leading the way.
Analysts valued the business at 1.0 to 1.2 New Zealand billion dollars.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 15.55 points to 3,484.42 on turnover worth 125.3 million dollars (79.6 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices rose 0.35 per cent in choppy trade as investors bought index and small-cap stocks, led by broadly positive Asian market trends.—AFP
