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HONG KONG, Sept 5: Asians stocks closed mixed on Wednesday with a rally on Wall Street overnight failing to inspire investors, who remain wary over the state over the United States economy.
Improved US manufacturing figures and the prospect of an interest rate cut in the world’s largest economy had underpinned early buying but profit taking emerged later in the day.
Subprime mortgage fears, or home loans made to risky borrowers when interest rates were much lower in the US, again haunted equities as many people believe the worst is not yet over.
Further insights into the US economy and the impact from subprime loans were expected to be contained in more data to be released over the coming days and this also contributed to a broader flat tone to trade.
Tokyo was by far the worst on the day with a 1.6 per cent tumble on a potential US credit crunch, Seoul shed 0.5 per cent and Sydney was also down 0.5 per cent, after its central bank kept interest rates on hold.
Mumbai shed 0.12 per cent.
Sharp falls in Japan encouraged profit taking elsewhere resulting in many markets closing off their highs, including Hong Kong where the benchmark rose 0.77 per cent and still managed a record close.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices skidded lower for a third straight day as investors remained nervous about the impact on the US economy of recent credit market turmoil.
The Nikkei-225 index closed down 262.02 points at 16,158.45. Turnover rose to 1.81 billion shares from 1.46 billion shares on Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed above 24,000 points for the first time, on strong Wall Street gains, expectations of lower interest rates and hopes for further mainland cash.
The index hit a new all-time high in the morning as it breezed past the 24,200 mark but the gains were pared as some investors locked in profits amid fears that the market may be at overbought levels.
A sharp drop on the Japanese bourse also gave rise to profit-taking pressure in the afternoon, but the index still managed to end at a new closing record.
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.5 per cent, ending four days of gains and dragged down by weakness in banks amid concerns about credit markets.
Dealers said falls in the big banks and a drop in mining giant BHP Billiton weighed heavily on the index, but retailers Coles and Wesfarmers both posted strong gains after Coles approved an enhanced takeover bid by Wesfarmers.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 30.6 points at 6,262.7. Two billion shares worth 6.2 billion Australian dollars (5.1 billion US) changed hands.
Although the central Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates on hold at 6.50 per centon Wednesday, there also remained concerns about a possible new rate rise before the end of the year.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 2.0 per cent higher, encouraged by gains on Wall Street where positive economic data raised hopes of an interest rate cut.
Dealers said banks and blue chips were back in focus after recent heavy selling on fears of a global credit crunch.
The Straits Times Index closed up 69.02 points at 3,445.08 on volume of 2.09 billion shares worth 2.10 billion dollars (1.38 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed up 1.1 per cent on optimism a government budget will include positive measures for the corporate sector and taxpayers.
The composite index rose 14.18 points to 1,297.93 on volume of 1.02 billion shares valued at 1.77 billion ringgit (506 million dollars).
Stocks linked to the consumer, property and oil and gas sector moved higher ahead of the budget announcement, said Choong Khuat Hock, head of research at Kumpulan Sentiasa Cemerlang.
The local bourse also received a boost from the US markets strong performance overnight, he said.
The budget announcement will have some impact on the local bourse, particularly in the immediate term. But over the longer term, I think the deciding factor will still be the overseas markets, Choong said.
Telekom Malaysia was up 0.05 at 9.80 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed flat after an erratic session saw some investors locking in gains in major stocks and activity centered largely on second and third liners.
The composite index finished down 0.50 points at 2,214.62. Volume was 4.07 billion shares valued at 3.22 trillion rupiah (342.62 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 0.11 per cent in the fifth straight day of gains following recent volatility.
The NZX-50 index gained 4.47 points to close at 4,155.00 on turnover worth 112.2 million dollars (77.8 million US).
We’ve had a good period where things have recovered and it almost feels like everything from the credit distress has been forgotten, said Campbell Stuart, managing director at UBS.
Telecom was down two cents at 4.41 dollars.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices fell a slight 0.12 per cent in volatile trade Wednesday and snapped eight straight days of gains.
Dealers said the market could consolidate further as investors lock-in the recent gains that took the benchmark index to near its record high. The 30-share Sensex index closed down 19.25 points at 15,446.15.
Investors were edgy. We expect the markets to consolidate further at these levels, said a dealer with brokerage Jamnadas Morarjee.—AFP
