HONG KONG, Jan 19: Asian stocks closed mixed on Friday as investors focussed on domestic issues and consolidated in the wake of recent sharp gains and overnight falls on Wall Street.
Tokyo was weighed down by New York, particularly its tech sector, with the benchmark falling 0.35 per cent. Taipei followed suit and fell 0.70 per cent while Seoul slumped 1.64 per cent.
Mumbai dropped 0.25 per cent and Wellington eased 0.13 per cent, both coming off record highs, while Kuala Lumpur and Sydney ended the day even.
However, brighter earnings prospects propelled Singapore by 0.37 per cent to another record high as Shanghai also struck an all-time closing high, up 2.73 per cent on a fresh bout of capital inflows.
More modest gains were registered in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.35 per cent lower, weighed down by heavy overnight losses in tech stocks on Wall Street.
Dealers said that the market dip may have been limited by a weaker yen, which slumped to a near four-year low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan decided not to raise interest rates on Thursday.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 60.49 points to 17,310.44. Volume fell to 1.89 billion shares from 2.30 billion on Thursday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.25 per cent firmer on gains in index heavyweight HSBC and other select blue chips as investors switched out of China plays in rotational moves.
Dealers said trade was generally cautious following Wall Street's weakness overnight after the latest US economic data dashed hopes for an early cut in US interest rates.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 50.21 points at 20,327.72. Turnover was 59.58 billion dollars (7.64 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed flat after a flurry of late support left the market back in record territory.
Dealers said banking stocks accounted for most interest, while resource stocks continued to succumb to a further fall in base metal prices in overnight trading in London.
The SP/ASX 200 added 0.7 points to 5,673.1. A total of 1.47 billion shares worth 5.03 billion dollars (3.9 billion US) changed hands.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed at another record high Friday on selected buying of blue chips.
Dealers said gains in blue chips and property counters supported the market, while hopes for strong corporate results should support the market's momentum.
The Straits Times Index closed up 11.23 points or 0.37 per cent. Volume was 2.78 billion shares worth 2.22 billion dollars (1.44 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat as the market took a breather after five straight days of gains.
Dealers said construction stocks came under profit-taking pressure after posting strong gains yesterday.
The composite index inched up 0.10 points at 1,147.76 on turnover of 1.38 billion shares worth 2.45 billion ringgit (700 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.0 per cent higher, with the main index rising a fifth straight day supported by large caps Telkom and Astra International.
The composite index closed up 17.851 points at 1,795.558 on volume of 2.75 billion shares worth 2.71 trillion rupiah (298.46 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.13 per cent lower as the previous day's enthusiasm based on takeover speculation petered out.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 5.23 points to 4,091.11 in turnover worth 107.8 million dollars (74.9 million US).
The Warehouse fell 14 cents to 7.12 dollars following a 22 cent gain Thursday.
The rise was spurred by Australian supermarket giant Woolworths revealing it had applied for regulatory clearance to acquire the discount retailer.
Contact Energy, which also rose sharply Thursday on takeover talk, fell 20 cents to 8.50 dollars on light volume.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed down 0.25 per cent in choppy trade, shedding early gains as investors booked profit at higher levels after strong third-quarter earnings from Indian companies.
The 30-share Sensex closed down 35.04 points to 14,182.71. Tata Steel closed down Rs7.95 or 1.67 per cent at Rs467.6.
—AFP