HONG KONG, Dec 19: Asian shares were mixed on Friday, with Tokyo and Hong Kong falling on deep economic concerns, despite Japan cutting its key interest rate to nearly zero to tackle a recession, dealers said.

Tokyo closed 0.91 per cent lower after giving up brief gains that followed the rate cut. Hong Kong was down 2.4 per cent and Sydney was up 1.0 per cent.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced about an hour before the closing bell that it was cutting interest rates from 0.3 per cent to just 0.1 per cent in a bid to fight the recession in the world’s second largest economy.

This followed the US Federal Reserve’s slashing of its base lending rate on Tuesday to a range of zero to 0.25 per cent.

The Tokyo market briefly went into positive territory, rising nearly one per cent.

Some players also bought back on expectations that the government and the Bank of Japan will take additional steps to boost the economy next year, said Yumi Nishimura, an analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Tokyo.

But the gains were short-lived. Nishimura said it was difficult for players to move the market higher due to uncertainty over the fate of the US Big Three automakers, two of which are on the verge of collapse.

The rate cut came hours after Prime Minister Taro Aso’s cabinet approved a projection that the economy will post zero growth in the year to March 2010 following recession in the current year.

We are rapidly heading into more severe conditions, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa told a news conference.

TOKYO: Tokyo shares ended down 0.91 per cent.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei index fell 78.71 points to 8,588.52. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange first section issues fell 4.26 points or 0.51 per cent to 834.43.

Leading auto maker Toyota Motor Corp. slipped 2.0 per cent to 2,900 yen after reports it was facing an operating loss.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 2.4 per cent lower.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 370.30 points at 15,127.51 on turnover of 57.38 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.40 billion US). The market has risen 2.51 per cent over the week.

HSBC bank dropped 6.2 per cent to 76.55 dollars.

Airline Cathay Pacific jumped more than five per cent on lower oil prices.

China Mobile fell 3.3 per cent to $81.50.

China Life Insurance was 3.9 per cent lower at $24.50.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.0 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 34.5 points to 3,615.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 25.5 points at 3,547.2. A total of 2.1 billion shares worth 7.24 billion dollars (5.0 billion US) changed hands.

Mining giant BHP Billiton lost 3.5pc to 29.92 while Rio Tinto dropped 2.48 per cent to 39.01.

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 0.19 per cent lower.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed down 3.48 points at 1,795.47 on volume of 984 million shares worth 847 million dollars (584 million US).

Keppel Land ended 17 cents higher at 1.79 Singapore dollars, CapitaLand gained 24 cents to close at 3.30, while City Developments rose 41 cents to 6.98.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares closed 0.5 per cent lower.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 4.1 points to close at 876.40.

Tenaga Nasional eased 3.3 per cent to 5.90 ringgit, IOI Corp was down 1.6 per cent at 3.56, Sime Darby slipped 3.5 per cent to 5.45 and Gamuda was 3.7 per cent lower at 1.83.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended 0.3 per cent lower.

The Jakarta Composite Stock Index closed 3.48 points down at 1,348.28 in thin trade.

Car distributor Astra fell 2.3 per cent to 10,850 rupiah.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed 1.93pc lower.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 52.28 points to 2,655.31 on turnover worth 88.8 million dollars (51.7 million US).

Market leader Telecom led the way down for the broader market, falling eight cents to $2.26.

MUMBAI: Indian shares rose 0.23 per cent in choppy trade.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 23.48 points to 10,099.91, a near five-week high.—AFP