HONG KONG, June 5: Asian stocks close mixed on Thursday as lower oil prices boosted sentiment but worries about inflation lingered, with the Malaysian bourse diving 2.4 per cent after a big fuel price hike.

Malaysian stocks sank following the government’s decision Wednesday to hike subsidised fuel prices by 41 per cent, as high crude oil prices strain budgets across Asia.

However, the Indian market rose more than 1.5 per cent even though New Delhi announced Wednesday hikes of 11 per cent and 9.4 per cent in petrol and diesel prices, respectively, based on their cost in the capital.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.65 per cent, dealers said.The benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 94.45 points to end at 14,341.12. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares shed 6.02 points or 0.42 per cent to 1,424.45.

With the dollar holding steady above 105 yen, we can expect exporters’ shares to push up the benchmark, Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief executive officer of Investrust, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Nippon Oil gave up 4.7 per cent to 724 yen. Mobile telephone operator Softbank climbed 2.8 per cent to 1,919 yen after announcing a deal with Apple Inc. to sell iPhones in Japan by the end of the year.

Sony dropped 1.6 per cent to 5,420 yen but Toyota Motor gained 0.4 per cent to 5,590.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.55 per cent, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 132.04 points at 24,255.29. Turnover was low at 63.69 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.16 billion US dollars).

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.97 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index was down 54.4 points at 5,530.1, while the broader All Ordinaries shed 64.4 points to 5,633.8. Volume was some 5.4 billion dollars (5.1 billion US dollars).

Woodside Petroleum fell 7.8 per cent to 58.63. BHP Billiton was down 4.37 per cent to 42.50 and its takeover target Rio Tinto dropped to 134.95.

Macquarie Group closed up 4.66 per cent at $53.90.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.29 per cent higher, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index rose 9.09 points to 3,143.89 on volume of 1.00 billion shares worth 1.36 billion Singapore dollars (0.99 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks closed down 2.4 per cent, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 29.56 points to 1,223.56 after fuel prices were hiked 41 per cent and the energy subsidies reformed.

The hike in fuel prices and planned hike in electricity tariffs point to higher inflation and potential erosion in corporate earnings, a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 1.6 per cent higher, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index ended up 37.09 points at 2,399.67.

Indonesia’s central bank raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 8.5 per cent Thursday.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed little changed, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 1.72 points to 3,555.97.

New Zealand central bank governor Alan Bollard said Thursday that the official interest rate could be cut this year despite high inflation.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 1.64 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex rose 254.93 points to 15,769.72.

Globally the scenario remains grim. Short-covering pulled the markets up, but choppiness could continue into next week, said a dealer at Emkay Shares and Securities.—AFP