HONG KONG, April 29: Asian stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a key US central bank meeting expected to cut American borrowing costs.

Japan, Asia’s biggest bourse, was shut for a public holiday. But among other major regional markets, Taiwan tumbled more than two per cent, with South Korea and Singapore also ending down.

Analysts said Taiwan was hit by reduced optimism that the island’s incoming government would successfully boost relations with mainland China, adding concern about corporate earnings also overshadowed the market.

But the mainland Chinese stock market rose almost 1.5 per cent, while Hong Kong ended nearly one per cent up. India surged more than two per cent, but Australia was little changed.

The US Federal Reserve is forecast to cut rates by 25 basis points to two per cent this week, but then signal a pause having aggressively lowered borrowing costs since September last year to shore up the American economy.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 0.97 per cent higher, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed up 247.86 points at 25,914.15. Turnover was 88.68 billion Hong Kong dollars (11.38 billion US).

Market sentiment continues to improve with companies reporting upbeat first-quarter earnings,” said Daniel Chan, a senior investment strategist at DBS Bank.

China banks were up as Bank of China’s 85 per cent surge in first-quarter net profit raised hopes of strong full-year earnings for the sector. The stock rose 1.3 per cent to 3.94 Hong Kong dollars.

SYDNEY: Australian shares closed little changed in muted trade, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 4.2 points or 0.07 per cent to close at 5,606.9, while the broader All Ordinaries ended 2.3 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 5,672.6. Volume was 4.7 billion dollars (4.43 billion US).

We are taking a bit of a break on the back of the recent (market) rally, said Lucinda Chan, division director at Macquarie Equities.

NAB was up 0.2 per cent at 30.30 dollars. Rio Tinto was down 1.6 per cent at 141.20 and index leader BHP Billiton rose 0.7 per cent to 43.89.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed down 0.91 per cent, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 29.27 points to 3,172.36 on volume of 1.21 billion shares worth 1.38 billion Singapore dollars (1.01 billion US).

People are still uncertain about the economic outlook,” said Terence Wong, retail markets research head at DMG and Partners Securities.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.9 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) closed down 11.66 points at 1,283.65.

Maybank fell five sen to 8.05 ringgit, Tenaga lost 10 sen to 6.60 ringgit and Telekom Malaysia was down six sen at 3.50 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 2.2 per cent higher, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 49.22 points at 2,303.53.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.02 per cent lower, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 37.07 points to 3,605.57.

The possibility of a weakening local currency was higher on the agenda, dealers said.

Telecom fell 13 cents to 3.70 dollars. Fletcher Building was down 24 cents at 8.66 dollars and Contact Energy fell three cents to 9.38.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices rose sharply to close up 2.13 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 362.5 points to 17,378.46 points.

The policy statement was hawkish. Fiscal measures to check inflation are likely for the next few months. More monetary tightening cannot be ruled out, said Rajeev Malik, Asia economist at JP Morgan Chase.—-AFP