HONG KONG, Aug 7: Asian stocks closed mostly up on Thursday but the gains were generally modest and Japan fell nearly one per cent amid growing fears of recession in Asia’s biggest economy.

The Japanese government said Thursday that the country’s longest economic recovery since World War II appeared to have ended, and a drop in machinery orders added to fears of a recession.

Among other major markets, Singapore fell nearly two per cent and South Korea almost one per cent, but Hong Kong, Australia and China closed up.

Investors were looking ahead to interest rate decisions due in the Eurozone and Britain amid fears of a deepening US-led world economic slowdown.

TOKYO: Tokyo share prices closed down 0.98 per cent as investors took profits after the previous day’s surge, amid fresh pessimism over the Japanese and US economies, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 129.90 points to end at 13,124.99. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 18.46 points or 1.45 per cent to 1,258.81.

The market may stay dull as investors are realising that the real economy is actually bad, Fumiyuki Nakanishi, strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.7 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 154.45 points to 22,104.20. Turnover totalled 75.9 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.73 billion US).

Cathay Pacific was 3.93 per cent down and Bank of East Asia dropped 1.51 per cent after both reported poor interim results.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 0.29 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 14.2 points to 4,983.3, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 11.9 points to 5,030.

A total of 1.35 billion shares worth 5.4 billion dollars (4.9 billion US) changed hands.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.8 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index fell 52.07 points to 2,834.71. Volume traded totalled 1.26 billion shares worth 1.64 billion Singapore dollars (1.19 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.4 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 4.03 points to 1,129.56.

Dealers said the market was down as the domestic political climate turned cloudier following the decision to charge opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim with sodomy.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.5 per cent higher, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose 11.81 points to 2,199.01.

Bucking the trend, Bank Mandiri fell 0.8 per cent to 3,000 rupiah on profit taking.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed up 0.79 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 26.55 points to 3,378.89.

Telecom finished unchanged at 3.68. Fletcher Building continued to enjoy renewed interest in the lower interest rate environment, rising 19 cents to 6.80 dollars. Contact Energy closed up seven cents at $8.60.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 0.29 per cent higher, dealers said.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 43.71 points to 15,117.25.

The markets shed some gains towards the close awaiting inflation data, said Hiten Mehta, a fund manager at Fortune Financial Services.—AFP