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HONG KONG, Oct 2: Asian stocks shrugged off a weaker Wall Street and closed mostly higher on Monday with trade subdued by an array of public holidays around the region.
Tokyo was the standout with a 0.79 per cent gain after a better than expected jump in business confidence while Taipei was up 1.13 per cent amid a major buyout in its banking sector.
Singapore, Sydney and Wellington were also higher on buying interest in blue chips, however, after reopening Manila fell 0.55 per cent as authorities began to count the economic costs of Typhoon Xangsane.
Jakarta was down 0.37 per cent but had recovered off earlier sharper falls after improved inflation figures were released while Bangkok was down 0.33 per cent after a new prime minister was appointed.
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Mumbai were closed for public holidays while in Australia volumes were lower with the national market partially closed due to a holiday in Sydney.
TOKYO: Share prices hit a fresh three-week high Monday as investors cheered a surprise jump in a key business confidence index to the best level for two years.
Dealers said the Bank of Japan's closely watched Tankan survey also showed companies plan to ramp up capital spending although they are somewhat cautious about the outlook for later this year.
A weaker yen, which hit a five-month low against the dollar, also provided a boost for exporter shares.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 126.71 points to 16,254.29. Volume reached 1.61 billion shares, up from 1.35 billion on Friday.
The Tankan (results) were a positive surprise for the market, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.48 per cent higher in thin trade on the back of stronger commodity prices and a positive lead from Tokyo.
Dealers overall trading volumes were extremely light with Sydney closed for a public holiday.
With Wall Street down Friday, the market had to look to Tokyo for a positive lead as stocks there rose after news of a better-than-expected Bank of Japan business confidence survey.
The SP/ASX 200 rose 24.7 points to 5,178.8. With the Sydney bourse closed, turnover was a low 555.22 million shares worth 1.59 billion dollars (1.2 billion US), with 534 stocks up, 366 down and 333 unchanged.
Bell Potter private client advisor Stuart Smith said the better-than-expected Bank of Japan Tankan survey provided support but warned the strong session should be viewed cautiously due to light trading volumes.
National Australia Bank added 0.10 dollars to 36.80 dollars.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.2 per cent higher boosted by institutional interest in property and banking stocks.
The Straits Times index was up 31.20 points at 2,600.06 on volume of 1.06 billion shares worth 1.02 billion Singapore dollars (642 million US).
Today's gains were led by banks and property stocks, a dealer with a local brokerage said.
Banking stocks rose after Monetary Authority of Singapore data for August showed increased lending, dealers said.
DBS Group Holdings rose 0.50 to 19.70, United Overseas Bank gained 0.40 to 16.70 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp climbed 0.15 to 6.70.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent higher Monday led by telecommunications company Digi.com while other stocks mostly traded within a narrow band.
The composite index was up 2.12 points at 969.67 on turnover of 365.19 million shares worth 649.45 million ringgit (176.2 million dollars).
Dealers said Digi.com rose 0.50 ringgit or 4 percent to 13.00 ringgit as investors bought the stock for entitlement to its cash payout of 0.60 ringgit per share.
Apart from Digi.com, banking stocks also supported the market, they said.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.37 per cent down but off the day's lows as better-than-expected September inflation data gave the market a modest boost.
Dealers said that interest in some second-liner stocks led by the construction sector helped limit falls from a number of major stocks including telecom stocks and Astra International.
Government data showed the consumer price index for September rose 0.38 per cent from August and was up 14.55 per cent year-on-year.
The composite index closed down 5.708 points at 1,528.907 on volume of 2.09 billion shares valued at 1.38 trillion rupiah ($150 million).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.40 per cent higher following a generally positive performance by leading stocks in quiet trade.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 14.36 points to 3,603.70 on light turnover worth 49.1 million dollars (31.9 million US).
Market leader Telecom reversed an early fall to close up two cents at 4.37 dollars.
Suzanne Kinnaird of Forsyth Barr said Telecom had been little affected by a decision from the business regulator that Telecom and mobile rival Vodafone should handle local calls at no cost.—AFP
