HONG KONG, Sept 17: Asian markets were mixed on Monday following strong advances at the end of last week after the Federal Reserve announced a huge stimulus plan to boost the US economy.

The euro eased slightly as forex dealers took a breather after the single currency made healthy gains on Friday following the unveiling of the open-ended bond-buying programme. Sydney added 0.29 per cent, or 12.5 points, to close at 4,402.5, Seoul lost 0.26 per cent, or 5.23 points, to 2,002.35 and Hong Kong rose 0.14 per cent, or 28.33 points, to 20,658.11.

Shanghai tumbled 2.14 per cent, or 45.35 points, to 2,078.50, with shares tied to Japanese firms worst hit owing to a territorial dispute between Beijing and Tokyo that has sparked protests in China.

Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur were closed for public holidays. The Fed said on Thursday it would start a third programme of bond-buying, by purchasing $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed bonds, known as quantitative easing (QE3), and would keep the scheme in place until it saw substantial improvement in the jobs market.

It also said it would extend its “Operation Twist” scheme of selling short-term debt and buying long-term bonds with the proceeds in order to keep long-term interest rates as low as possible.

“The big question is how long this Fed-inspired rally will continue as QE3 was the last bazooka to be used in (its) arsenal,” Jason Hughes, analyst at IG Markets Singapore, told Dow Jones Newswires.

In Shanghai shares with links to Japan were hit as thousands of demonstrators mounted protests across China over an islands dispute between Tokyo and Beijing. Demonstrators in the southern city of Shenzhen — some holding a banner calling for a “bloodbath” in Tokyo — clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, Hong Kong broadcaster Cable TV showed.

On oil markets, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, fell 24 cents to $99.14 98.76 and Brent North Sea crude for November delivery fell 34 cents to $116.32.

Gold was at $1,770.20 at 1030 GMT compared with $1,773.30 on Friday.

Taipei rose 0.31 per cent, or 24.17 points, to 7,762.22.Smartphone maker, HTC, surged 5.90 per cent to Tw$314.0; while Hon Hai Precision was 0.52 per cent higher at Tw$97.5.

Manila closed 0.53 per cent higher, adding 28.43 points, to 5,350.90. Ayala Land gained 2.58 per cent to 23.90 pesos while Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rose 0.69 per cent to 2,890 pesos.

Wellington climbed 0.66 per cent, or 24.89 points, to 3,817.23. Telecom gained 0.60 per cent to NZ$2.50 and Fletcher Building was up 2.1 per cent at NZ$6.94.

Singapore closed up 0.27 per cent, or 8.30 points, to 3,078.72. Wilmar International gained 1.54 per cent to Sg$3.29 and Jardine Cycle and Carriage rose 0.76 per cent to Sg$49.06.

Bangkok gained 0.19 per cent, or 2.42 points, to 1,278.54. Telecoms company ADVANC, dropped 1.87 per cent to 210.00 baht, while coal producer Banpu edged up 3.14 per cent to 460.00 baht.

Jakarta closed down 0.04 per cent, or 10.47 points, at 4,255.28. Telkom was down 4.2 per cent at 9,250 rupiah and Bank Rakyat dropped 1.4 per cent at 7,300 rupiah.

Mumbai rose 0.42 per cent, or 78.04 points, to 18,542.31. Pantaloon Retail jumped 19.04 per cent to 187.6 rupees while private airline Kingfisher rose 19.98 per cent to 12.97 rupees. —AFP