HONG KONG, Feb 21: Asian shares closed mostly higher on Thursday as hopes of more US interest rate cuts helped investors shrug off record high oil prices and concerns about the global economy.
Stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve cut its US economic growth forecast and suggested gross domestic product rather than inflation was the main worry, which investors took to herald more interest rate cuts.
Asian markets also shrugged of a rise in the price of oil to an all-time peak of $101.32 per barrel on Thursday.
Japan rose 2.84 per cent, reversing much of a steep slide on Wednesday.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices staged a strong rally, closing 2.84 per cent higher as investors went bargain hunting in the wake of overnight gains on Wall Street, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 377.91 points to end at 13,688.28. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 32.00 points or 2.46 per cent to 1,334.72.
Gainers outpaced decliners 1,577 to 115, with 35 issues unchanged. Volume fell to 2.17 billion shares from 2.40 billion shares on Wednesday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.14, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 32.42 points at 23,623.0. Turnover was 75.43 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.7 billion US).
Sentiment remains weak because there are still a lot of uncertainties in the US and in China, said Peter Pak, vice president at BOCI Research Ltd.
China Mobile gained 1.20 dollars to 117.20, HSBC was up 1.50 at 114.20 and Hutchison Whampoa rose 0.20 to 74.10. China Construction Bank was down 0.04 dollars at 5.69
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 1.6 per cent on a series of strong half-year profit reports from blue-chip companies, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed 86.9 points higher at 5,583.4, while the broader All Ordinaries ended up 85.7 points at 5,663.
Volume traded was 1.6 billion shares worth 7.6 billion dollars (6.9 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.92 per cent higher, dealers said.
The blue chip Straits Times index rose 27.98 points to 3,054.81. Volume was 1.40 billion shares worth 1.69 billion Singapore dollars (1.20 billion US).
Najeeb Jarhom, head of research for retail investors at AmFraser Securities, reminded investors to exercise caution.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 1.4 per cent, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index closed down 19.56 points at 1,394.76. Malaysians will go to the polls on March 8.
Maybank was down 20 sen at 9.60 ringgit. Tenaga fell five sen to 9.25 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia gained 20 sen to 11.20 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.7 per cent higher, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite index closed up 44.95 points at 2,734.21.
Telkom gained 100 rupiah to 10,150, Astra International added 200 to 27,700, and gas distributor Perusahaan Gas Negara added 550 to 13,550.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.26 per cent lower, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index dropped 9.28 points to 3,586.63.
Telecom fell three cents to 4.07 dollars, Fletcher Building fell eight cents to 9.53 and Contact Energy was two cents off at 7.55.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed up 0.66 per cent, dealers said. The 30-share Mumbai Sensex index rose 117.08 points to 17,734.68.
Software stocks rose smartly on a weak rupee. The market is likely to remain weak following global trends, said Manoj Kakaiya, dealer with brokerage ULJK Securities.—AFP
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