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          HONG KONG, Nov 15 (AFP): Asian stocks continued to consolidate at lower levels on Tuesday with interest subdued ahead of the release of key economic data due out of the United States later this week, dealers said.
However, they said losses were modest and expected in response to solid gains last week which pushed many markets into or towards record territory.
Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok eased, with a lack of direction from Wall Street overnight contributing to the lacklustre performance.
However, Jakarta bucked the trend after five trading days of losses were notched-up amid soaring inflation and interest rates.
Mumbai was closed for a public holiday.
TOKYO: Share prices closed flat, trading in a narrow range as key blue-chips Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa bounced back after losses Monday.
Dealers said profit-taking in property stocks, ahead of the listing of the government-backed Link REIT, also made some investors cautious.
"The market lacks fresh stimulus. Investors are keeping a wait-and-see attitude. Gains in Cheung Kong and Hutchison helped support the index but not enough to bring the index into positive territory," said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities.
The Hang Seng index was down 2.08 points at 14,627.41. Turnover was 16.11 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.1 billion US).
SEOUL: Share prices closed down 0.30 percent but were off their early lows as retail investor support offset heavy blue-chip sales by institutional and foreign investors.
Dealers said the downturn was a simple correction came after a five-day record-breaking run, with an upturn in oil prices and caution ahead of a series of key US economic data to be released this week leaving the tone negative.
The KOSPI index closed down 3.77 points at 1,253.86. Volume was 428 million shares worth 3.5 trillion won (3.3 billion dollars).
HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat, trading in a narrow range as key blue-chips Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa bounced back after losses Monday.
The Hang Seng index was down 2.08 points at 14,627.41. Turnover was 16.11 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.1 billion US).
TAIPEI: Share prices closed 0.87 percent lower as investors took profits on the recent advance above the key 6,000 points level, in line with generally weaker regional markets.
The weighted index lost 52.88 points at 6,030.74 on turnover of 64.94 billion Taiwan dollars (1.94 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Share prices gave up early gains and closed 0.10 percent lower on weakness in the blue chips with infrastructure stocks and Internet companies also losing ground.
The Shanghai A-share Index slipped 1.18 points to 1,143.06 on turnover of 5.32 billion yuan (656 million dollars) while the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 2.21 points or 0.80 percent at 273.57 on turnover of 3.74 billion yuan.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.11 percent lower as telecoms giant Telstra and the resources sector weighed on the market.
Dealers said the focus was on Telstra after it issued yet another profit-warning and announced major job cuts.
The SP/ASX 200 index lost 5.2 points at 4,603.2. Volume was 1.08 billion shares worth 3.98 billion dollars (2.0 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.61 percent lower as property stocks fell, led by CapitaLand, on rate rise concerns.
The Straits Times Index fell 13.66 points to 2,240.49. Volume totalled 785.64 million shares worth 769.25 million Singapore dollars (455 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.21 percent lower amid speculation that foreign investors might cut their holdings in non-dollar denominated assets.
The Composite Index fell 1.86 points to 894.33. Volume was 258.42 million shares worth 638.76 million ringgit (169.4 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.27 percent lower on weak buying sentiment following a court suspension of the listing of Thailand's largest utility EGAT.
The Composite Index slipped 1.83 points to 681.58 with 3.0 billion shares traded worth 17.7 billion baht (431 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.43 percent higher on a technical rebound led by index heavyweights Telkom and Astra International after four straight days of losses.
The Composite Index closed up 4.343 points at 1,022.076 on volume of 710.32 million shares valued at 803.81 billion rupiah (80.38 million dollars).
Economic factors such as high inflation and rising interest rates have combined to keep sentiment in Astra negative.
MANILA: Share prices closed 0.40 percent lower on continued profit-taking after recent sustained gains.
The Composite Index shed 8.31 points at 2,063.74. Volume was 2.0 billion shares worth 472 million pesos pesos (8.63 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices rose 0.83 percent, led by market heavyweight Telecom after Australian telco giant Telstra confirmed it had abandoned plans to build a rival 3G mobile network in New Zealand.
The NZSX-50 index gained 27.21 points to 3,311.65 on turnover worth 95 million New Zealand (64 million US) dollars.
Telecom rose eight cents to 5.94 dollars after Telstra announced a further retreat from New Zealand.
The news about abandoning 3G in New Zealand was not surprising but was "confirmation of the fact", Forsyth Barr broker David Price said.