HONG KONG, May 16: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday after tame inflation data eased any jitters over United States interest rates and drove Wall Street to a record close.
However, gains were limited with many regional benchmarks trading in record territory proving an attractive opportunity for profit taking, and this was reflected in Tokyo, Sydney, Taipei and Manila which all closed little changed.
Jakarta was among the best on the day with 1.27 per cent surge and a record finish. Singapore also closed at its best ever high with a gain 0.75 per cent.
Mumbai soared 1.42 per cent and Bangkok was up 1.18 per cent while gains were more modest in Kuala Lumpur, up 0.47 per cent, Wellington which rose 0.30 per cent and Seoul, up 0.71 percent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed flat as buyers took to the sidelines ahead of key data at home and in the United States alongside domestic corporate earnings.
Dealers said, however, the market did manage to rebound from early lows after electronics maker Hitachi said it did not do as badly as anticipated in the past fiscal year and forecast returning to profit in the current year.
The Nikkei-225 index closed up 16.02 points at 17,529.00. Volume rose to 2.18 billion shares from 2.16 billion shares Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.33 per cent higher as select China-related stocks led by China Mobile bounced back from Tuesday's fall and tracked the rise in Chinese markets.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 69.11 points at 20,937.26. Turnover was heavy at 57.27 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.3 billion US).
The market was not too bad today, posting gains on a rebound after yesterday's falls, Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial, said.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.05 per cent as investors weighed their options as gains by BHP Billiton and investment bank Macquarie overshadowed mixed results elsewhere.
The S&P/ASX 200 gained 3.4 points to close at 6,294.6. Turnover was 1.71 billion shares worth 5.78 billion dollars (4.82 billion US).
It was a bit of a lacklustre day and also there's a bit of uncertainty about which direction the market is heading, Aequs Securities head of institutional trading Ric Klusman said.
SINGAPORE: Share prices edged to a new record high as stronger regional markets renewed buying interest.
The Straits Times Index finished up 26.09 points at 3,501.17. Volume was 2.31 billion shares worth 1.91 billion dollars (1.27 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.47 per cent higher on a technical rebound.
The composite index was up 6.31 points at 1,352.41 on turnover of 1.014 billion shares worth 2.027 billion ringgit (596.2 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.27 per cent higher with gains by banks helping to lift the main index to a new record high.
The composite index finished up 25.980 points at 2,063.763. Volumes were 5.23 billion shares worth 3.72 trillion rupiah (422.87 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.30 per cent, with second-largest stock Fletcher Building again leading the market higher.
The NZX-50 gross index rose 12.68 points to 4,227.46 on turnover worth 159.5 million dollars (117.6 million US).
Fletcher Building rose 36 cents to 12.20 dollars, its highest close this year and just below an alltime high of 12.23.
MUMBAI: Share prices rose 1.42 per cent, crossing the key 14,000-point level on strong overseas fund buying.
Dealers said there was good buying in mid-cap stocks while banking and capital goods stocks in particular gained.
The 30-share Sensitive Index rose 197.98 points to 14,127.31.
The buying momentum was back and the markets seem set to be moving towards a new record high, said Advait Date, a dealer at brokerage BHH Securities.—AFP