HONG KONG, Sept 17: Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday following an early rally that was led by confidence after the US Federal Reserve bailed out troubled American Insurance Group (AIG).
A day after the region’s indices plummetted following the collapse of Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers Seoul and Tokyo reversed some of their losses but Hong Kong fell to its lowest level in almost two years.
Markets opened favourably to gains on Wall Street on Tuesday, which had reacted after the US Federal Reserve said it would extend an $85-billion loan to AIG. The move will give the US government nearly an 80 per cent stake in the insurer.
Sydney, which also opened higher, fell back to close down and Taiwan shares closed up but a late sell-off pared back a bigger early advance.
Jakarta rose for a second straight day, while Wellington and Manila lifted more than one per cent but Kuala Lumpur shed almost one per cent and Mumbai was 1.89 per cent down.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed up 1.21 per cent, dealers said.
But the market lost some of its early gains as concerns re-emerged about the health of the US and domestic economies following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
HONG KONG: Shares closed down 3.6 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark index plunged 663.42 points to 17,637.19 on turnover was 76.23 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.77 billion US).
SYDNEY: Australian shares lost 0.6 per cent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 28.6 points to 4,722.2, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 30.1 points to 4,769.7.
A total of 1.52 billion shares worth 6.96 billion Australian dollars (5.57 billion US) was traded, with 614 stocks down, 420 up and 314 unchanged.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares hit their lowest level in more than two years, dealers said.
The blue-chip Straits Times Index lost 1.71 per cent, dropping 42.14 points to 2,419.29 -- its lowest close since July 2006.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices ended 0.9 per cent lower, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 9.38 points to close at 1,002.99.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares rose two per cent, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite Index gained 34.25 points to 1769.89.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rallied, dealers said.
Air New Zealand was up five cents to $1.09 as oil prices eased.
There was weakness in the retail sector where Pumpkin Patch eased four cents to 1.45 after reporting a 27.5 per cent decline in full year net profit.
MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 1.89 per cent down, dealers said. The BSE benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 255.9 points to 13,262.9, its seventh straight day of losses.
The markets will now await inflation data due late Thursday, which is riding at 13-year highs.
—AFP
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