HONG KONG, April 30: Asian stocks closed mostly down on Wednesday ahead of an expected cut in US borrowing costs, but China surged nearly five per cent fuelled by optimism over corporate earnings.

The Shanghai bourse rose 4.82 per cent buoyed by strong earnings by banks.

The rally also came after China slashed a stock trading tax last week, which led to a stunning mainland market rise of nearly 10 per cent last Thursday.

Japan edged up 0.32 per cent, weighed down by official data showing the country’s factory output fell 3.1 per cent in March.

The Bank of Japan also cut its economic growth outlook and shifted to a less hawkish stance on borrowing costs. It left interest rates unchanged Wednesday at 0.5 per cent.

Shares in Sydney fell overall despite a flurry of corporate developments, including a takeover offer for Origin Energy by Britain’s BG Group valuing the Australian firm at over 12 billion dollars.

Australian iron ore miner Midwest also said Wednesday it had accepted an improved takeover offer from China’s Sinosteel, which values the firm at $1.36 billion (1.27 billion US). Shareholders still have to approve the bid.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 0.32 per cent, pressured by a sharp drop in domestic factory output and by caution ahead of a US interest rate announcement, dealers said.

They said a decision by Japan’s central bank to leave its key interest rate on hold at 0.5 per cent had little impact.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 0.61 per cent, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed down 158.8 points at 25,755.35. Turnover was 82.61 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.59 billion US).

As the market gained nearly 13 per cent in April, and due to the Fed decision (later Wednesday) on interest rates and a public holiday on Thursday, many investors decided to lock in profit, said Patrick Yiu at CASH Asset Management.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.2 per cent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slipped 11.5 points to 5,595.4 and the broader All Ordinaries fell 15.6 points to 5,657. Turnover was 1.7 billion shares, valued at 6.9 billion dollars (6.45 billion US).

Dealers said the energy sector rose after Origin Energy received a takeover bid from British utility BG Group, valuing the Australian firm at $12.9 billion.

Origin Energy closed up 33.2 per cent at a record high of 13.95 dollars.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed down 0.77 per cent, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index dropped 24.57 points to 3,147.79 on volume of 1.34 billion shares worth 2.25 billion Singapore dollars (1.65 billion US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.3 per cent lower, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) closed down 3.79 at 1,279.86.

As we had anticipated, the recent run-up proved unsustainable, given the weak buying momentum and market breadth, said Stephen Soo at TA Securities.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed little changed, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index closed up 0.99 points at 2,304.52.

Ryan Aryadi Suwarno at Dongsuh Kolibindo said investors were waiting to see how the US market would respond to the Fed decision.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.53 per cent higher, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 19.24 points to 3,624.80. Experts said the potential for a lower domestic currency had helped.

Contact Energy jumped closed 32 cents higher at 9.70. Air New Zealand rose four cents to $1.25. Telecom rose eight cents to $3.78.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed down 0.52 per cent, dealers said.—Reuters