sAsian stocks close mixed
HONG KONG, Dec 19: Asian stocks closed mixed on Wednesday with Japanese shares falling sharply as US economic woes overshadowed hopes of an end-of-year rally.
Tokyo shed 1.17 per cent, extending its losing streak to six days, as the government slashed its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year from 2.1 per cent to 1.3 per cent.
Sydney fell 0.3 per cent and Singapore closed down 0.36 per cent. The Singaporean market will be shut Thursday and the Indonesian bourse will be closed from Thursday to Tuesday.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices fell sharply, extending their losing streak to a sixth day as investors remained cautious about the fallout from the US subprime loan crisis, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 177.35 points or 1.17 per cent to 15,030.51, the lowest close since November 22. The index has now lost more than six per cent in about a week. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares closed down 12.98 points or 0.88 per cent at 1,456.79. Turnover fell to 1.78 billion shares from 2.07 billion shares on Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed up 1.11 per cent helped by the performance of property stocks, dealers said.
But they said prospects were far from certain due to the global credit crunch emanating from the US and measures by the authorities in China to slow the country’s booming economy.
The Hang Seng index closed up 296.39 points at 27,029.26. Turnover was 82.32 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.55 billion US).
SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.3 per cent for the market’s sixth consecutive fall triggered by concerns about the global credit crisis, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 finished 20.5 points lower at 6,216.4 and the broader All Ordinaries shed 11.8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 6,280.8. Turnover was 1.73 billion shares worth about 7.0 billion dollars (5.99 billion US). The S&P/ASX 200 has plunged almost 7.0 per cent in the past six sessions.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.36 per cent lower, surrendering earlier gains on profit-taking ahead of a public holiday on Thursday, dealers said. The Straits Times Index fell 11.97 points to 3,357.34. Volume was 1.63 billion shares worth 1.68 billion Singapore dollars (1.16 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed up 0.1 per cent as investors bought into selected blue-chips after a Wall Street rebound, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was up 1.76 points at 1,387.21 on volume of 642 million shares valued at 1.4 billion ringgit (418 million dollars).
Telekom Malaysia was flat at 11.10 ringgit. Maybank dipped 10 sen to 11.50 ringgit.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.4 per cent up after volatile but thin trade as investors locked in early gains ahead of a long break, dealers said.
The market will be closed on Thursday and Friday to mark Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday, and next Monday and Tuesday for Christmas. The Jakarta composite index closed up 11.75 points at 2,657.98.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed up 0.35 per cent following gains on Wall Street, dealers said. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 13.62 points to 3,939.73.
Market leader Telecom fell four cents to 4.32 dollars and casino operator Sky City rose three cents to 4.55.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices ended flat after some central banks sought to boost liquidity in the global banking system, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex rose 12.32 points or 0.06 per cent to 19,091.96, snapping four days of losses.The Sensex had lost 6.3 per cent over the four days, slipping below the 20,000 points level.—AFP