HONG KONG, Aug 21: Asian shares closed mostly down on Thursday on fears that slowing global economic growth will hit corporate profits, with China slipping back 3.6 per cent after an earlier surge.

The Shanghai bourse fell back after rocketing more than 7.5 percent Wednesday on claims that Beijing would soon take steps to shore up China’s ailing stock market and slowing economy.

But investors turned cautious Thursday with no official word yet on whether the claims are true. The Chinese stock market has tumbled some 60 percent since a peak in October last year.

Meanwhile, the country’s largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said Thursday it was the world’s most profitable bank over the first half of the year after earning 64.879 billion yuan (9.4 billion US).

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.77 per cent, failing to get a boost from a Wall Street rally as investors continued to fret about the outlook for the global economy, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 99.48 points to end at 12,752.21. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares shed 8.84 points or 0.72 per cent to 1,224.53.

News that Japan’s trade surplus plunged 86.6 per cent in July from a year earlier also did little to boost investor confidence, dealers said.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares closed 2.58 per cent down, dealers said.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 539.20 points to 20,392.06. Turnover was 55.74 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.14 billion US).

Taifook Securities said in a note that an atmosphere of caution continues to blanket the local bourse as Beijing remains silent about its plans.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed down 1.1 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 54.3 points to 4,875.2, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 47.9 points to 4,949.6.

A total of 1.36 billion shares worth $5.5 billion (4.8 billion US) were traded.

The financials are down today on more negative news out of the US and the market is probably watching the reaction to Babcock & Brown, CMC Markets senior dealer Dominic Vaughan said.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.39 per cent lower, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed down 38.28 points at 2,713.47 on volume of 858.86 million shares worth 1.02 billion Singapore dollars (722.17 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices ended 0.17 per cent, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 1.78 points to end at 1,071.43.

Many investors prefer to stay on the sidelines... we expect a greater sense of certainty after the by-election and budget next week, one dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.9 per cent stronger, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index climbed 18.6 points to 2,088.25.

The main index’s gains weren’t as impressive as yesterday as some investors cashed in gains on any rebound, one trader told Dow Jones Newswires.

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

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 0.04 points to 3,332.06.

Auckland International Airport rose three cents to 2.01 after the company posted a 3.3 percent rise in full year adjusted net profit to 103.7m dollars.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 2.96 per cent lower, dealers said.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 434.5 points to 14,243.73.

Inflation concerns are increasing. We expect inflation to rise further towards the end of the third quarter, said Siddhartha Sanyal, an economist at Edelweiss Securities.—AFP