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HONG KONG, Dec 6 (AFP): Asian stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday with investors continuing to consolidate after falls on Wall Street overnight in response to a rise in oil prices, dealers said.
They also said underlying strength within regional markets remained and profit taking was persisting following last week's gains.
Of the standouts, Bangkok shot-up 2.92 per cent after the government reported solid economic growth figures. Jakarta was also higher after a cabinet reshuffle and an interest rate hike that was well within expectations.
However, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei were flat and most other markets were lower, including Tokyo where investors took a breather after a succession of gains delivered the benchmark to its highest levels in five years.
And on a much smaller market, in Colombo, share prices also tumbled amid fears Sri Lanka could be on the verge of falling back into a war with the rebel Tamil Tigers.
TOKYO: Share prices ended lower for the first session in four as profit-taking set in following the market's sprint up to a series of five-year highs.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 127.93 points or 0.82 per cent to 15,423.38, a day after closing at the highest level since October 10, 2000.
SEOUL: Share prices closed 0.45 per cent higher on foreign support, with record closes extending for a fifth day.
The KOSPI index closed up 5.91 points at 1,321.06. Volume was 524 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won (4.54 billion dollars).
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply lower as investors turned increasingly cautious ahead of next week's US Fed meeting and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 168.21 points or 1.11 per cent at 14,990.61. Turnover was 20.76 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.6 billion US dollars).
TAIPEI: Share prices closed flat on after financial stocks rose on expectations of mergers and acquisitions, offsetting earlier losses on profit-taking following Wall Street's retreat.
The weighted index closed up 2.21 points or 0.03 per cent at 6,350.52 on turnover of 114.21 billion Taiwan dollars (3.41 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Share prices closed 0.80 per cent higher amid renewed government commitments to liberalise investment in the banking sector, while steel makers rebounded after recent falls.
The Shanghai A-share Index gained 9.08 points to 1,143.64 on turnover of 4.84 billion yuan (596.79 million US dollars) while the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 1.60 points or 0.60 per cent at 269.63 on turnover of 3.05 billion yuan.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, closed up 8.60 points or 0.80 per cent at 1,087.79 on turnover of 4.88 billion yuan.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.19 per cent lower in lacklustre trading in which falls by mining blue chips were offset by record highs reached by Woodside Petroleum and gains made by banks.
The key S and P/ASX 200 index was 8.6 points lower at 4,616.0. Turnover was 1.056 billion shares worth 3.063 billion dollars (2.30 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.04 per cent lower on profit-taking in blue chips led by phone giant Singapore Telecommunications.
The Straits Times Index fell 24.26 points to 2,308.35. Volume totalled 630.11 million shares worth 643.41 million Singapore dollars (383 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed flat in quiet trade amid an absence of market-stimulating leads and following another poor lead from Wall Street overnight.
The Composite Index was up 0.99 points at 886.47. Volume was 294.45 million shares, worth 667.78 million ringgit (180 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices soared 2.92 per cent due to an easing of political tensions, a significant gain in the energy sector and positive third quarter economic figures.
The Composite Index rose 19.25 points to 679.16 on turnover of 3.0 billion shares worth 18.8 billion baht (454.2 million dollars) traded.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.25 per cent higher, after a cabinet reshuffle raised hopes for the economy and Bank Indonesia delivered a rate hike in line with expectations.
The composite index closed up 2.857 points at 1,123.435 on volume of 1.07 billion shares valued at 1.01 trillion rupiah (101.61 million dollars.)
MANILA: Share prices closed 0.81 per cent lower on a pick up in political tensions and higher-than-expected inflation in November.
The Composite Index fell 17.15 points to 2,099.15. Volumes reached 473.2 million shares worth 1.06 billion pesos (19.67 million dollars.)
WELLINGTON: Share prices slumped 1.30 per cent due to growing fears about the continuing strength of the local currency and the possibility of a sharp economic downturn.
The NZSX-50 gross index fell 41.79 points to 3,225.15 on turnover of 95 million dollars (68.2 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed lower on sustained profit taking in most blue chips and concern that cement sales, a leading economic indicator, may be lower than expected this month.
The 30-share Sensex slipped 0.09 per cent or 7.78 points to 8,815.35. Volumes were moderate at 28.51 billion rupees (633 million dollars).
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan share prices tumbled as investors sought cover amid fears the island could slip back into war with Tamil Tiger rebels after 14 government troops perished in two blasts, dealers said.
The bench-mark All Share Price Index shed 5.7 per cent to close at 2,062.37, after losing three per cent Monday, the first trading day after Sunday's blast in the northern peninsula of Jaffna where seven soldiers died.
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