Asian shares mostly down
HONG KONG, Feb 18: Asian shares closed mostly down on Monday with concerns about a global credit crunch and looming US recession still dominating trading even though Wall Street was shut for a public holiday.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed narrowly mixed on as investors took profits on an early rally amid ongoing jitters about the outlook for the US economy, dealers said.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed up 12.84 points or 0.09pc at 13,635.40, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares dipped 1.90 points or 0.14pc to 1,332.99.
Gainers outpaced decliners 957 to 681, with 90 issues unchanged.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.61pc lower, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed down 389.18 points at 23,759.25. Turnover was 78.12 billion Hong Kong dollars (10 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 1.58pc higher, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which covers both A and B shares, closed up 71.02 points to 4,568.15 on turnover of 92.54 billion yuan.
The Shanghai A-share index rose 1.58pc to 4,793.99. The Shenzhen A-share index was up 2.52pc at 1,478.27.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.17pc lower, dealers said.
The Straits Times Index fell 5.34 points to 3,083.34 on volume of 1.94 billion shares worth 1.60 billion Singapore dollars.
“We are taking the cue from the US,” said Terence Wong, retail market research head at DMG & Partners.
“The worst for the US has not yet materialised and more negative news is likely to emerge,” Westcomb Financial said in a client note.
DBS Group rose 34 cents to 18.24 dollars. Keppel Land lost 12 cents to 6.20 dollars. Singapore Airlines slipped two cents to 15.80 dollars.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.0pc lower, dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index fell 14.36 points at 1,412.83.
The local bourse “is not weak, it’s just getting spooked with the constant reminder that the US is at a dead end,” said Phua Kwee Hock, an analyst at SJ Securities.
Astro slid 4.7pc to 4.04 ringgit following a report that Malaysia’s sole pay-TV operator is interested in taking over Virgin Radio, the third largest commercial radio station in Britain.
Palm oil producer Sime Darby lost 2.5pc to 11.90 ringgit. Telekom Malaysia was steady at 11.50 ringgit. Maybank rose five sen or 0.5pc to 9.70 ringgit.
BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 0.20pc lower, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 1.66 points to 824.99 and the blue-chip SET-50 lost 2.23 points to 595.82.
JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices closed 0.1pc lower, dealers said.
The Jakarta Composite index closed down 3.49 points at 2,684.70.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed up 2.5pc, dealers said.
The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 90.97 points to 3,601.78.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 0.37pc lower, dealers said.
The 30-share benchmark Sensex index fell 67.2 points to 18,048.05.
“A fresh impetus for the market seems unlikely at the moment due to weak overseas fund purchases,” said Hiten Mehta, senior fund manager at Fortune Financial Services.
But Reliance Power, the country’s largest stock floatation, rose 7.53pc to 413.65 after saying it may issue free bonus shares to investors.—AFP