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HONG KONG, Feb 15, 2006 (AFP): Asian stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday with investors cashing up ahead of a Congressional testimony by United States (US) Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke due overnight.
MUMBAI: Share prices rose 0.26 per cent on expectations of tax relief in this month's federal budget and mutual fund purchases.
Dealers said buying was seen in retail, consumer goods and automobile stocks.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 26.55 points to 10,113.18.
TOKYO: Share prices slid back below 16,000 points as investors turned cautious ahead of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke address.
The Nikkei-225 index lost 252.04 points or 1.56 per cent to 15,932.83 on somewhat subdued turnover of 1.89 billion shares.
General trading houses retreated, led by Sumitomo Corp which lost 49 yen or 3.2 per cent to 1,500. Itochu shed 27 yen or 2.9 per cent to 906.
SEOUL: Share prices closed 1.83 per cent lower in volatile trade with large cap IT stocks leading the decline in a sharp reversal of early gains.
Samsung Electronics shed 19,000 won to 654,000 and Hynix tumbled 4,050 won to 28,950. LG Electronics lost 1,700 won to 77,100 and Samsung SDI was down 1,900 won to 87,600.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat in cautious trade, with some investors choosing to stay on the sidelines ahead of the testimony of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to Congress.
The Hang Seng Index rose 2.94 points at 15,423.26. Turnover was 36.63 billion Hong Kong dollars (4.7 billion dollars).
TAIPEI: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower as investors chose to lock in profits made on early gains following a strong Wall Street performance overnight.
The weighted index slipped 14.48 points at 6,598.49 on turnover of 104.65 billion Taiwan dollars (3.24 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Share prices closed 0.99 per cent higher, extending gains to a second day on follow-through interest, with banks and airlines in demand.
The Shanghai A-share Index rose 13.44 points to 1,362.66 on turnover of 14.60 billion yuan (1.80 billion dollars) while the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 0.18 points at 329.55 on turnover of 7.70 billion yuan.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, rose 12.84 points or 1.0 per cent at 1,299.17, a 11-month high, on turnover of 14.78 billion yuan.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.69 per cent lower as blue chip stocks succumbed to profit-taking after recent solid gains.
The Straits Times index fell 16.81 points to 2,424.17 on volume of 1.61 billion shares worth 1.35 billion Singapore dollars (833 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.18 per cent higher, supported by Wall Street's overnight gains and easing crude oil prices.
The composite index rose 1.66 points to 927.17. Volume was 1.07 billion shares worth 1.25 billion ringgit (0.34 billion dollars).
Among blue chips, Tenaga Nasional and Maybank were flat at 10.90 ringgit and 11.00 respectively, while Telekom Malaysia was up 0.25 at 9.95.
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.30 per cent lower as investors traded with caution ahead of a court decision on whether to investigate if Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra violated the constitution.
Dealers said foreign investors sold shares in the banking, energy and property sectors.
The composite index shed 2.18 points to 725.73 on volume of 3.4 billion shares worth 14.8 billion baht (380 million dollars) traded.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.53 per cent higher as a rebound in Telkom and gains in plantation and mining stocks offset profit-taking in Astra International and Perusahaan Gas Negara.
The composite index added 6.565 points to 1,236.943 on 1.30 billion shares worth 1.56 trillion rupiah (168.96 million dollars).
Indonesia's 2005 economic growth of 5.6 per cent, which was announced Wednesday, came in line with expectations and barely affected market sentiment, he said.
MANILA: Share prices closed 0.2 per cent higher, managing a modest technical rebound after Wall Street's sharp gains overnight while profit-taking limited the advance.
The composite index rose 4.20 points at 2,074.09. Volume was 1.45 billion shares worth 2.47 billion pesos (47.9 million dollars).
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