HONG KONG, Feb 5: Stocks in Asia were mainly lower on Thursday as quiet trade saw dealers take profits from earlier gains, while also being weighed down by another set of poor data from the United States.

HONG KONG: Up 0.9 per cent. The Hang Seng Index closed up 115.01 points at 13,178.90.

The market dropped off as investors viewed the disappointing earnings of computer maker Lenovo and retailer Esprit as a sign that other Hong Kong firms will also report worse-than-expected results in the coming weeks.

Lenovo ended the session down 2.7 per cent at 1.46 Hong Kong dollars.

Esprit said on Wednesday its first-half net profit fell 13 per cent from a year earlier to $2.85 billion, which was also below analysts’ estimates.

The blue-chip retailer fell 4.8 per cent to HK$36.70.

SYDNEY: Down 0.3 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 9.3 points to 3,428.6.

Mining stocks rallied on speculation Chinese demand for iron ore and copper could strengthen, but negative US leads weighed on financials, said CMC Markets analyst David Taylor.

ANZ Banking Group was down 7.1 per cent to 12.34 and National Australia Bank was 4.2 per cent lower at 18.64.

BHP Billiton rose 6.2 per cent to 31.62 and rival Rio Tinto added 7.1 per cent to 47.40.

Qantas hit a 12-year low of 1.84 in intraday trade but finished at 1.87, which was 18.3 per cent off its opening price, after announcing a 500 million dollar capital raising plan.

Investment bank Macquarie Group lifted 5.5 per cent to 24.13.

SHANGHAI: Down 0.46 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 9.73 points at 2,098.02.

Earlier euphoria faded in late afternoon on profit taking and worries over the domestic economy and weak corporate profits, dealers said.

The National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to issue inflation and producer price index data for January on Tuesday.

Fujian Nanfang Textile dropped 4.5 per cent to 3.43 yuan.

Equipment maker Sany Heavy Industry dropped 1.9 per cent to 20.37 yuan while Xuzhou Construction Machinery Science and Technology slid 3.0 per cent to 18.91.

Airlines bucked the downtrend on hopes Beijing may inject more capital into the ailing sector. China Eastern Airlines rose 4.0 per cent to 5.17 yuan.

Trading in Shanghai Airlines was suspended as the company said Thursday it is in talks for a bailout.

TAIPEI: Down 0.61 per cent. The weighted index fell 26.72 points to 4,363.25.

The food sector shed 1.35 per cent and electronics lost 1.00 per cent while steel rose 2.60 per cent and transport was up 1.70 per cent.China Steel rose 2.0 per cent at 23.50 Taiwan dollars on hopes of a smaller-than-expected fall in steel prices in the current quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s largest contract microchip maker by revenue, fell 1.17 per cent to 42.4 while United Microelectronics Corp lost 0.39 per cent to 7.72.

SEOUL: Down 1.5 per cent. The KOSPI fell 17.49 points to 1,177.88.

“Even continued foreign buying was not enough to overcome strong profit-taking among local institutions and retail investors amid ongoing uncertainties surrounding fundamentals,” Lee Woo-Hyun, an analyst at KTB Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. Financial stocks fell the most due to uncertainties over US banks.

KB Financial Group fell five per cent to 34,000 won.

STX Pan Ocean ended down 0.9 per cent at 11,350 after hitting an intraday high of 12,100.

Asiana Airlines ended down 5.2 per cent at 3,895 after reporting a net loss of 163.4 billion won (118 million dollars) in the fourth quarter.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.16 per cent. The STI closed 2.79 points lower at 1,704.60.

Trade was light with no real catalyst to boost buying sentiment.

Bank shares fell, with United Overseas Bank sliding 26 cents to 11.24.

Property shares closed mixed. CapitaLand shed seven cents to 2.38 while City Developments gained the same amount to close at 5.35.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.4 per cent. The KLCI gained 3.15 points to close at 879.95.

Dealers said local funds selectively accumulated shares of government-led companies to offset profit-taking by retail investors.

Sime Darby rose 0.9 per cent to 5.40 and IJM Corp gained 1.7 per cent to 3.68.

IOI Properties rose 12.2 per cent to 2.49.

IOI Corp lost 6.1 per cent to 3.68.

BANGKOK: Flat. The SET gained 0.40 points to close at 433.44.

Dealers said trading was light as investors stayed on the sidelines, with no new factors stirring market sentiment.

Top energy firm PTT Plc rose 1.00 baht to 155.00 baht.

Bangkok Bank was unchanged at 71.50 and top telephone operator, Advanced Info Service, shed 1.00 to 74.00.

JAKARTA: Up 0.6 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index rose 7.71 points to 1,328.07 in thin volume.

A bump in oil prices spurred bargain buying in commodity-related stocks, dealers said.

Coal miner Bumi Resources jumped 10 per cent to 550 rupiah while heavyweight Telkom rose 2.4 per cent to 6,300.

MANILA: Up 2.4 per cent. The composite index gained 44.52 points to 1,892.07.

The market was helped by favourable news on inflation and positive sentiment on key stocks, dealers said.

The announcement earlier that the inflation rate hit a 10-month low of 7.1 per cent in January helped lift the index, said Ron Rodrigo of Daiwa Securities.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. gained 3.5 per cent to 2,220 pesos while the Manila Water Co. rose 7.14 per cent to 11.25 pesos.

MUMBAI: Down 1.21 per cent. The Sensex fell 110.97 points to 9,090.88.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.18 per cent. The NZX-50 gained 4.87 points to 2,773.49.

The market was quiet with a lack of leads on the last day before a long holiday weekend.

Top stock Telecom rose six cents to 2.70 dollars and continued to be the standout performer in terms of volume traded.

However, number two stock Contact Energy closed six cents down at 6.78 dollars.

The Warehouse ended 10 cents down at 3.60. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was down five cents at 3.29.—AFP