HONG KONG, March 31: Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Monday, in volatile trade, with sellers stung by negative sentiment from last week’s falls on Wall Street winning a tug-of-war battle with bargain hunters.

US stock markets closed lower Friday after a government survey showed American consumers had pulled in their belts a few notches last month amid lingering economic uncertainty.

A profit warning from the giant retailer JC Penney also depressed US investor optimism and this impacted on sentiment in Asia, where bargain hunters had recently been scouring the markets for good buys.

Tokyo shed 2.3 per cent, Hong Kong fell 1.88 per cent, Shanghai was down 3.0 per cent, Mumbai tumbled 4.44 per cent, Jakarta was off 1.2 per cent, Bangkok fell 0.99 per cent, Kuala Lumpur was 0.9 per cent lower and Sydney eased 0.1 per cent.

Singapore closed 0.81 per cent weaker and Taipei was down 0.59 per cent but Seoul closed steady while bargain hunting helped Manila to a 1.0 per cent gain as Wellington rose 0.67 per cent.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices tumbled 2.30 per cent, hit by losses on Wall Street late last week and by caution ahead of a key survey of domestic business confidence.

Dealers said a drop in Japanese industrial output did little to lift sentiment as investors adjusted positions on the last day of the fiscal year.

The Nikkei-225 index declined 294.93 points to 12,525.54. Turnover rose to 1.84 billion shares from 1.8 billion shares on Friday.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed lower, down 1.88 per cent, on profit-taking after gains last week, with Wall Street’s falls and weak US economic data prompting caution.

The Hang Seng index closed down 436.75 points at 22,849.20. Turnover was 74.50 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.57 billion US).

SYDNEY: Australian shares prices closed up 0.1 per cent in erratic trade, with losses in the banking sector continuing to weigh on the market.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 4.6 points at 5,355.7. A total of 1.4 billion shares worth 5.3 billion dollars (4.9 billion US) was traded.

The fact that it is finishing slightly positive is a pretty good performance given the factors that have been impinging on the market, said Michael Heffernan, a private client advisor at Austock Services.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.81 per cent lower on profit-taking, with concerns over a slowing US economy weighing on market sentiment.

The Straits Times Index closed down 24.54 points at 3,007.36 on volume of 1.61 billion shares worth 2.19 billion Singapore dollars (1.59 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.9 per cent lower due to profit-taking as investors cashed in recent gains after Wall Street’s fall last week.

The composite index finished down 10.89 points at 1,247.52 on volume of 617.15 million shares valued at 1.09 billion ringgit (343 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 1.2 per cent lower as investors pocketed profits from last week’s gains.

The composite index closed down 30.29 points at 2,447.30. Volume traded was 3.18 billion shares worth 4.54 trillion rupiah (492.4 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed up 0.67 per cent in a mixed day for leading stocks.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 22.93 points to close at 3,470.43 on turnover worth 126 million dollars (99.9 million US).

MUMBAI: Indian share prices plunged 4.44 per cent as sentiment weakened on discouraging US economic data and rising local inflation concerns.

The Sensex fell 726.85 points to 15,644.44.

Investors unwound positions unclear of global trends and the possibility of tighter monetary policy to lower inflation, said Advait Date, dealer with brokerage BHH Securities.—AFP