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HONG KONG, July 30: Asian stocks closed mixed on Monday but were off early lows as investors focused on the region's sound economic fundamentals rather than last week's heavy, Wall Street-led losses, dealers said.
They said more losses Friday in New York on concerns over problems in US sub-prime mortgages made for a weak start but the early downturn did not turn into a feared rout and sentiment steadied on a series of strong local leads.
For example, Tokyo closed flat after being down 1.0 per cent as investors looked at positive quarterly corporate results and treated heavy losses for the government in weekend elections as largely priced in.
Hong Kong added 0.75 per cent on the back of a property sector rebound despite concerns interim results from global banking giant HSBC would show minimal gains and further damage from its exposure to US sub-prime mortgages.
Instead, HSBC reported very strong profit growth which helped offset increased bad loan provisions. Dealers said the outcome, announced after the Hong Kong close, should help the markets on Tuesday.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed marginally higher, reversing early falls sparked by fresh losses on Wall Street Friday and political uncertainty after weekend elections dealt the government a heavy blow, dealers said.
They said that a defeat for the government in the upper house elections had been widely expected and rising company profits helped drive the late recovery.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares ended up 5.49 points at 17,289.30, off a low of 17,042.66.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares rose 6.0 points or 0.36 per cent to 1,705.71, regaining the key 1,700 points level.
Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,110 to 519, with 97 stocks unchanged.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.75 per cent higher, bouncing back after heavy losses as investors looked ahead to an expected strong government land auction, dealers said.
After the close, HSBC reported much better than expected figures, easing concerns that its results would be badly affected by its exposure to the troubled US sub-prime mortgage market.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 169.49 points at 22,739.90, off a low of 22,473.92 and high of 22,759.49. Turnover was 80.73 billion dollars (10.35 billion US).
The property sub-index closed up 398.06 points or 1.50 per cent at 26,946.45.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed 0.4 per cent higher after strong gains in the mining sector helped steady the market hit by last week's losses on Wall Street, dealers said.
They said stocks performed better than expected given the sharp falls and had looked set for more of the same after a further slide in US stocks on Friday.
Turnover was 1.9 billion shares worth 6.3 billion dollars (5.4 billion US).
Losers led gains 791 to 485, with 354 stocks steady.
Intersuisse head of trading Andrew Sekley said investors had been comforted by the knowledge that the domestic economy remained robust.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.96 per cent higher, coming off early lows on bargain hunting in property stocks, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index (STI) rose 33.59 points to 3,526.29. Volume was 2.82 billion shares worth 2.57 billion dollars (1.70 billion US). Gains led losers 449 to 431, with 695 stocks unchanged.
“Property stocks have plunged from their recent all-time peaks and are taking the rebound lead,” said Fraser Securities' research head Najeeb Jarhom.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed easier Monday as the launch of a massive development project for the northern peninsular provinces helped take the market off its lows, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down 2.97 points or 0.2 percent at 1,352.41, off a low of 1,343.73.
Volume was 1.95 billion shares worth 2.83 billion ringgit (815.6 million dollars) while gainers led losers 563 to 358 and 234 stocks were unchanged.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.1 per cent higher, with the main index recovering from heavy morning losses after a number of major stocks managed a rebound in late trade, dealers said.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index was up 3.14 points at 2,301.55, off an intraday low of 2,268.67 and a high of 2,306.89. Volume was 5.31 billion shares worth 4.0 trillion rupiah (435 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices fell 0.41 per cent in a muted reaction to a sharp sell-off on Wall Street at the end of last week, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index shed 17.18 points to 4,228.83 on turnover worth 120.4 million dollars (91.6 million US). Falls led gains 72 to 43 among the 148 stocks traded.
There is no panic selling on the local market.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices edged up 0.17 per cent in volatile trade after shedding early gains on fears of a further sell-off on Wall Street, dealers said.
They said the markets bounced back intraday on improving Asian market trends but investors preferred to unwind positions towards the close.—AFP
