HONG KONG, July 22: Asian stocks closed mostly down on Tuesday as some investors took profits from a strong earlier rally amid continued fears for economic growth, but Japan bucked the trend to surge nearly three per cent.

The Tokyo bourse closed up 2.98 per cent after reopening following a holiday on Monday, when many Asian markets had posted strong gains partly due to last week’s oil price tumble.

But the mood was more restrained Tuesday, with the markets in Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea closing little changed. Chinese share prices closed mixed, while Taiwan and Singapore fell.

Oil prices rose Tuesday towards $134 per barrel, dimming the optimism from the slide last week. Investors fear still higher inflation due to soaring fuel and food costs, which threaten slower economic growth.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices surged almost three per cent on easing worries about the US financial crisis, with the benchmark ending above the 13,000 points level for the first time in a week.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main Nikkei-225 index gained 381.26 points or 2.98 per cent to 13,184.96. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares added 35.31 points or 2.82 per cent to 1,287.74.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks closed little changed, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index dropped 5.42 points to 22,527.48. Turnover was 51.93 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.66 billion US).

Lenovo Group fell more than five per cent after news that IBM is selling another 116.2 million shares in the Chinese PC maker.

SYDNEY: Australian stocks closed little changed, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 6.2 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,005.6. The broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.5 points to 5,075.9, up around 0.1 per cent.

Woodside Petroleum put on 70 cents to $57.10. Telstra gained four cents to$ 4.40.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 0.98 per cent weaker, dealers said.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) finished 28.55 points lower at 2,890.66. Volume was 855 million Singapore dollars (633 million US).

The local market was just taking cues from the poor performance in the US, said a local trader.

CapitaLand fell 12 cents to 5.75. Olam International was up two cents to 2.17. DBS eased two cents to 19.16.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.6 per cent higher, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 6.09 points to 1109.57.

Momentum buying for short-term gains helped sustained the technical rebound today, said Stephen Soo, an analyst at TA Securities.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed up 0.8 per cent, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite index rose 17.69 points to 2,212.75.

A firmer rupiah and hopes that inflation in July would be slower than in June also inspired bargain buying, a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.14 per cent lower, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed 4.41 points lower at 3,143.91.

The central bank meets Thursday to decide on interest rates, currently at 8.25pc.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 1.84 per cent higher, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 254.16 points to 14,104.2. The market shut ahead of Tuesday’s parliamentary confidence vote in the ruling coalition.—AFP