HONG KONG, Oct 7: Asian shares ended mixed on Tuesday as they clawed back heavy losses on optimism for a round of interest rate cuts following a slash in the official figure in Australia.

Regional markets plummeted early on after overnight losses in Wall Street and Europe, but Australia’s central bank provided a rare dose of positive news, sparking hopes policymakers in other countries could follow suit.

Tokyo briefly tumbled five per cent, dropping below 10,000 points for the first time in more than four years on fears that government efforts to end the crisis may be too little, too late.

The Nikkei finally closed 3.01 per cent down. Other markets that started the day on a low also eased back on the news from Australia, where the Sydney bourse finished 1.7 per cent higher after opening more than 3 per cent down.

The larger-than-expected one per cent rate cut was the biggest in Australia since 1992.

Seoul, Singapore and Taipei, which also opened lower, managed to end the day in positive territory. Shanghai was 0.73 per cent off while Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.

Dealers were taking the lead from Wall Street, where overnight the Dow Jones fell as much as 800 points during the session, slipping below the key psychological level of 10,000 for the first time since 2004.

But it pulled back, closing down 369.35 points, or 3.58 per cent, at 9,955.50.

In Tokyo, hopes for an interest rate cut were dashed when the central bank said it would hold its figure at 0.5 per cent. Its governor later played down any moves for a co-ordinated cut between nations to help ease the financial crisis.

TOKYO: Japanese stocks closed 3.03 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 317.19 points to 10,155.90, the lowest closing level since December 2003. The index had tumbled more than five per cent at one point.

The broader Topix index of all first section shares slid 21.44 points, or 2.15 per cent, to end at 977.61.

The market is still panicky, Credit Suisse strategist Satoru Ogasawara said. Many people are simply dumping shares. Traders were looking for any signs that authorities may take coordinated action to try to quell the turmoil, and in particular whether they will slash interest rates to shore up market confidence and global economic activity.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed up 1.7 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 jumped 78.3 points to close at 4618.7, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 53.2 points at 4597.9 after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed the official rate.

Market turnover stood at 1.46 billion shares, valued at 4.94 billion dollars (3.56 billion US), with 325 stocks moving up, 832 stocks falling and 265 unchanged.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 0.43 per cent higher, dealers said.

The main Straits Times Index gained 9.23 points to 2,177.55 on volume of 1.23 billion shares worth 1.49 billion Singapore dollars (1.02 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed flat, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index edged up 0.39 points to close at 997.23.

Telekom Malaysia rose 3.0 per cent at 3.40 ringgit, Tenaga was up 4.6 per cent at 6.90 ringgit while Bursa Malaysia added 1.6 per cent at 6.30 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 1.8 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index fell to 1,619.72.

Indonesia’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 9.5 per cent Tuesday.

Bank Danamon fell 2.6 per cent to 4,725 rupiah and coal miner Adaro slid 17 per cent to 1,000.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed down 1.45 per cent, dealers said.

There was speculation the New Zealand central bank could follow with a rate cut of the same magnitude as in Australia when it meets later this month.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 44.19 points to 3,004.19.

Telecom was down a cent at 2.78 dollars, while discount retailer The Warehouse rose four cents to 3.10 dollars.

MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 1.34 per cent in late afternoon trade, dealers said.

The BSE benchmark 30-share Sensex index was down 158.12 points at 11,643.58, well off the day’s high of 12,181.43.—AFP