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HONG KONG, Oct 12: Asian stocks closed mixed on Thursday as hopes of an interest rate cut in the United States faded and offset positive sentiment stemming from falling oil prices.
The lack of direction was added to by Wall Street where a small aircraft slammed into a New York apartment building, sparking a sell-off amid early fears of another terrorist attack.
Losses were limited once it became apparent the crash was an accident, but this still resulted in a mixed overnight finish on Wall Street which combined with on-going concerns over North Korea left investors here cautious.
TOKYO: Share prices ended slightly lower after a bumpy session as losses on Wall Street overnight and worries over North Korea kept investors cautious.
The Nikkei-225 index lost 31.76 points or 0.19 percent to 16,368.81. Volume fell to 1.67 billion shares from 1.90 billion on Wednesday. Nikon edged down 50 yen to 2,480.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat in dull trade as investors turned cautious amid uncertainty over US economic prospects and interest rates.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 10.3 points at 17,873.09. Turnover was 34.44 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.4 billion US dollars).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.44 per cent lower after the release of stronger-than-expected jobs data which raised fresh interest rate concerns.
The SP/ASX 200 ended down 23.0 points at 5,259.8. Turnover was 1.32 billion, worth 4.6 billion dollars (3.4 billion US).
CommSec chief equities economist Craig James said the latest jobs data put the Reserve Bank of Australia a step closer to raising interest rates.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed flat as investors sold selected blue chips late in the session.
But sentiment remained positive amid falling oil prices and hopes for strong third quarter company earnings results.
The Straits Times Index fell 0.97 points to 2,640.64 on volume of 1.47 billion shares worth 1.17 billion Singapore dollars (737 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.52 per cent higher with sentiment boosted by a drop in crude oil prices in New York overnight.
The composite index gained 5.25 points at 975.62.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.23 per cent lower driven down by profit-taking in selected stocks.
Dealers said investors were looking for fresh leads such as upcoming third quarter results, which are due to be released later this month or in early November.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.24 per cent higher as fresh corporate takeover activity and news of a large government budget surplus provided support.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 8.75 points to 3,622.99 on turnover worth 162.4 million dollars (106.8 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 1.49 per cent at their second-highest level ever, driven by sharp gains by software stocks.—AFP
