HONG KONG, Jan 31: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday ahead of a decision by the US Federal Reserve on interest rates, with sentiment also hurt by concern over the Chinese markets.
Gains on Wall Street also failed to lift regional sentiment with investors focusing on China and domestic issues amid expectations the US Fed will keep interest rates steady 5.25 per cent.
The Shanghai market's composite index fell 4.92 per cent on institutional selling after a Chinese government official voiced concerns that the markets could be overheating.
This resulted in Hong Kong slumping 1.73 per cent, Singapore falling 0.15 per cent, Taipei was down 0.52 per cent, Seoul shed 0.77 per cent while Tokyo, amid weaker than expected profits from Sony, was down 0.61 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed down 0.61 per cent as weaker-than-expected results from Sony weighed on sentiment ahead of another slew of company earning reports.
The Nikkei-225 index lost 106.77 points at 17,383.42. Volume dropped to 2.13 billion shares from 2.33 billion Tuesday.
Markets largely expect US interest rates to be kept steady but investors will focus on the wording that the accompanying statement uses to describe the status of inflation, he said.
Kyocera closed down 100 yen or 0.89 per cent at 11,090, after opening higher in reaction to the company's earnings released Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply lower, shedding 1.73 per cent, as selling pressure intensified in late trade following steep falls on the mainland's A-share markets.
The comments bolstered expectations that mainland authorities will implement more measures to cool China's economy and the stock markets.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 354.04 points at 20,106.42. Turnover was 50.63 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.5 billion US dollars).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 0.67 per cent as investors cashed in profits following the market's record-breaking surge this month.
The SP/ASX 200 fell 39.1 points to 5,773.4. A total of 1.73 billion shares were traded worth 5.9 billion dollars (4.6 billion US).
Commsec equities advisor Donahue D'Souza said profit-taking was inevitable after such a strong run.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.15 per cent lower in a late burst of profit-taking by investors who saw strong corporate earnings results as a cue to cash in gains.
The Straits Times Index fell 4.70 points to 3,125.56. Trading volume was 2.18 billion shares worth 2.09 billion Singapore dollars (1.36 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.66 per cent higher in mixed trade, as interest in blue-chips offset profit-taking in the broader market.
The composite index edged up 7.93 points to 1,189.35. Trading volume was 1.19 billion shares, valued at 2.46 billion ringgit (702 million dollars).
The key index continues to go up but the market sentiment is weak, so you can say the KLCI is not reflective of what's happening in the market, said Cheah King Yoong, head of research at SJ Securities.
This has been the trend in the past two days and we expect the market to continue behaving like this in the immediate term, he added.
JAKARTA: Shares prices closed 0.47 per cent lower in cautious trade on the eve of the release of January inflation data.
The composite index closed down 8.264 points at 1,757.258 on volume of 1.98 billion shares worth 2.33 trillion rupiah (255.90 million dollars).
He said investors were also concerned inflationary pressure in January could linger through into February. Analysts have expressed concerns about firm goods prices, particularly food.
Telephone operator Telkom led the index fall, down 100 rupiah at 9,450.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.60 per cent higher as most leading stocks gained ground amid a pick-up in trading activity.
Dealers said there appeared to be a pick up in interest in the market ahead of the results reporting season.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 24.95 points to 4,152.98 on turnover worth 140.4 million dollars (96.6 million US).
I think we're getting a little bit of new money in the market, said Nigel Scott, retail equities adviser at ABN Amro Craigs.
Analysts had expected Telecom to take a blocking stake but were surprised by the full offer.
MUMBAI: Share prices fell 0.85 per cent after a hike in interest rates by the central bank.
Dealers said banking stocks fell as the central bank in a quarterly policy review raised its overnight borrowing or repurchase rate by a quarter per centage point to 7.5 per cent, making it costlier for banks to borrow funds.
The 30-share Sensex index fell 121.04 points to 14,090.92.
Tata Steel fell 55.35 rupees or 10.66 per cent to 463.95 after its takeover of British steel firm Corus for 13.7 billion dollars was deemed too steep.—AFP