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HONG KONG, May 8: Asian stocks eased off record and multi-year highs on Tuesday with investors ignoring gains on Wall Street and consolidating their positions amid slight profit taking.
Wednesday's meeting of the US Federal Reserve and a decision on interest rates also enticed investors into the wings and provided some with an excuse to cash up on recent gains, resulting in Tokyo closing 0.07 per cent lower.
That mood was reflected elsewhere, with Seoul falling 0.11 per cent and Taipei shedding 0.24 per cent while falls in other benchmarks were slightly heavier with Singapore the worst on the day with a drop of 1.1 per cent.
Jakarta fell 0.70 per cent despite an interest rate cut, Sydney fell 0.49 per cent, Kuala Lumpur was down 0.77 per cent and Hong Kong shed 0.91 per cent as Bangkok eased 0.50 per cent and Mumbai fell 0.82 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices put in a lacklustre performance in cautious trade ahead of another raft of company results.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 12.99 points or 0.07 per cent to 17,656.84.
Turnover was 2.20 billion shares, the same as Monday.
The market paused for breath, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.91 per cent lower as profit-taking in property escalated in late trade after a government land auction fetched a lower-than-expected price.
The key Hang Seng Index closed down 190.29 points at 20,706.35. Turnover was 58.34 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.48 billion US dollars).
SYDNEY: Share prices fell 0.49 per cent as investors locked in profits following a series of record finishes and Qantas weighed on the market after its takeover flopped.
Dealers said banks and mining stocks led the broader market lower, while Qantas dropped after resuming trade for the first time since Friday, the deadline for a failed takeover bid from a private equity consortium.
The SP/ASX 200 ended down 31.3 points at 6,304.4. A total of 1.88 billion shares worth 7.43 billion dollars (6.13 billion US) were traded.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.1 per cent lower on profit-taking after its recent record rally.
The Straits Times Index closed down 38.38 points at 3,439.21 on volume of 2.45 billion shares worth 2.28 billion dollars (1.51 billion US).
“The market has already gone up a lot on earnings ... so it has to consolidate,” said a dealer with a local brokerage.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.77 per cent lower due to profit-taking.
Dealers said questionable accounting at Transmile group also hurt investor sentiment, dragging the key index lower after it hit record high Monday.
The composite index closed down 10.61 points at 1,354.67. Trading volume was 1.4 billion shares, valued at 2.5 billion ringgit (735 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.70 per cent lower as big caps were pressured by substantial declines in East Asian markets.
Dealers said the East Asian decline dragged focus away from Bank Indonesia's announcement of a 25-basis point cut in its benchmark interest rate.
The falls were led by Telkom, Astra International and Perusahaan Gas Negara.
The composite index was down 14.251 points at 2,022.790 on volume of 4.15 billion shares valued at 3.01 trillion rupiah (338.39 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.49 per cent higher for a record close as investors focussed on the sale of broadcaster CanWest MediaWorks to an Australian private equity firm.
The NZX-50 gross index was up 20.64 points to 4,223.23 on turnover worth 127.5 million dollars (94.3 million US).
Barry Lindsay of First NZ Capital said demand was outstripping supply, pushing stocks beyond their fundamental valuations.
MUMBAI: Share prices slipped 0.82 per cent, falling for a third straight day, amid investor caution ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates.
Dealers said the markets were wary ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting to take place on Wednesday to decide monetary policy.
Analysts expect the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent.
The Mumbai Sensex index fell 113.79 points to 13,765.46.—AFP
