HONG KONG, Feb 16: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday after overnight gains on Wall Street and reassuring comments on the US economy from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.
Dealers said further falls in the price of oil had also improved sentiment and helped investors to look beyond the possibility of increased interest rates in the US which were flagged by Bernanke.
He also said the US economy, the major market for Asian exporters, remained on track.
Solid gains were also registered in Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul. However, Mumbai, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur were flat while Sydney eased following another fall in commodity prices.
TOKYO: Share prices ended in positive territory as investors took their cue from buoyant US markets, although worries over a looming end to Japan’s loose monetary policy capped gains.
Dealers said a drop in oil prices to a two-month low and comments from new Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke reassuring investors on the economy and inflation had provided the impetus for the US gains.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 110.84 points or 0.70 per cent to 16,043.67 on subdued turnover of 1.75 billion shares.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent higher, with trading paced largely by property stocks as cuts in mortgage loan rates buoyed sentiment on the sector.
The Hang Seng index closed up 27.62 points at 15,450.88. Turnover was 31.83 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.1 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 0.3 per cent as investor sentiment was soured by a fall in commodity prices and the failure of company earnings to meet expectations.
The SP/ASX 200 fell 14.4 points to 4,820.6 on volume of 1.19 billion shares worth 4.16 billion dollars (3.12 billion US) changed hands.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.43 per cent higher boosted by forecasts of stronger economic growth and overnight gains on Wall Street.
The Straits Times Index closed up 10.49 points at 2,434.66 on volume of 1.13 billion shares worth 1.07 billion Singapore dollars (656 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed with a marginal gain of 0.10 per cent as investors lacked the conviction of a fresh lead to give direction.
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional and Malayan Banking were both flat at 10.90 ringgit and 11.00, respectively.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed flat after a rebound in state gas firm PGN pushed the market back into positive territory.
The composite index added 0.931 points to 1,237.874 on 838.43 million shares worth 940.82 billion rupiah (102.09 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.59 per cent lower as market leader Telecom came under further pressure.
The NZSX-50 gross index dropped 19.96 points to 3,303.26 on turnover worth 146 million New Zealand dollars (97.5 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed up 0.11 per cent, boosted by plans by leading drugmaker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to buy a German generic pharmaceutical company.
Dealers said buying was seen in pharmaceutical, consumer goods and software stocks.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 11.12 points to 10,124.30.
