TOKYO, Aug 8: Asian share prices were mixed on Friday after gains on Wall Street boosted some markets and prompted profit taking in others.
Japanese share prices rose 0.67 per cent as companies such as NTT DoCoMo gained after reporting strong June quarter results, while machinery makers surged on strong machinery order data.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 index gained 61.97 points to close at 9,327.53. The Topix index of all first-section stocks advanced 1.56 points or 0.17 per cent to 917.47.
But decliners outnumbered gainers 875 to 511 with 129 issues unchanged, showing a weak undertone to trading.
Volume totalled an estimated 1.10 billion shares, a robust turnover for this point in August, when many investors are off on summer holidays.
HONG KONG: Share prices in Hong Kong closed 0.13 per cent lower on late selling, giving up early modest gains made after a firmer overnight performance on Wall Street.
The key Hang Seng index lost 12.83 points to close at 9,945.22.
Dealers said profit-taking in telecoms firm China Mobile was the major drag on the Hang Seng.
SINGAPORE: Share prices in Singapore closed little changed in subdued trading ahead of the National Day weekend.
The Straits Times Index finished at 1,534.54, up just 0.93 points, while the broader All Singapore Equities index closed at 417.05 points, down 0.01.
A dealer with a local brokerage said there was “not much trading interest” ahead of Singapore’s 38th independence day celebrations on Saturday.
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., which reported better-than-expected June quarter earnings on Thursday, was even at $1.65.
MUMBAI: Indian stocks closed 2.02 per cent higher on sustained aggressive buying by funds after reports of “encouraging” economic progress by India in the first quarter.
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share index rose 76.93 points to close at 3,883.76.
Dealers said foreign funds bought across the board for the second straight day after Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said the economy’s growth path was in line with budget projections.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.57 per cent lower as a technical correction and profit-taking ended the two-day rebound following Tuesday’s hotel bombing.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index ended down 2.910 points at 505.360.
“Yesterday’s rally was not supported by strong fundamentals, so naturally the index fell,” said Edwin Sebayang, an Evergreen Capital analyst.
The index gained by some 4.0 per cent in the two-day rebound after it plunged to 488 in reaction to the bomb blast which killed at least 10 people at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 1.08 per cent lower, reversing gains made this week as profit-taking in the financial sector sparked across the board selling in large-cap stocks.
The Shanghai A-share Index was down 16.82 points or 1.08 per cent at 1,540.79 and the Shenzhen A-share Index shed 5.42 to 421.20 on 3.05 billion yuan.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closed down 16.10 points at 1,471.27 on turnover of 5.59 billion yuan.
Financial stocks bore the brunt of selling after a reported meeting between the country’s troubled brokerage sector and the securities regulator failed to take place, dealers said.—AFP