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HONG KONG, March 9, 2006 (AFP Asian stocks closed mostly higher Thursday with Tokyo grabbing the spotlight after The Bank of Japan (BOJ) marked an historic return to conventional monetary policy.
The BOJ made the much-anticipated announcement with growth picking-up steam and allowing it to end five-years of flooding the economy with cash amid zero interest rates to combat the debilitating impact of deflation.
That, coupled with a BOJ plan to keep Japanese inflation under 2.0 per cent, pushed the Tokyo benchmark up 2.62 per cent adding a positive touch to trade around the region which had struggled after a flat performance by Wall Street.
However, most gains were limited by persistent fears of a further increase to interest rates, following a rout on the US bond market earlier this week, and Seoul rose 0.22 per cent, Taipei 0.42 per cent and Kuala Lumpur 0.81 per cent.
Gains in Wellington, Hong Kong and Manila were of a similar order while Sydney defied an overnight slump in commodity prices to rise 0.44 per cent.
Bangkok rose 0.71 per cent in response to recent sharp losses but market anxiety remained unabated as protesters vowed to continue demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
TOKYO: Share prices ended sharply higher as investors welcomed the central bank's pledge to keep interest rates low for some time while scrapping its current super loose monetary policy, as expected.
The Nikkei-225 index jumped 409.42 points or 2.62 per cent to 16,036.91. Volume rose to 1.82 billion shares from 1.73 billion Wednesday.
SEOUL: Share prices closed 0.22 per cent lower, in mixed trade with the central bank's positive economic outlook offset by program selling linked to the expiry of options and futures contracts.
The KOSPI index closed down 2.84 points at 1,311.21 on volume of 270 million shares worth 3.7 trillion won (3.8 billion dollars).
HONG KONG: Share prices closed flat in rangebound trade due to prevailing uncertainties over interest rate movements and a decline in Chinese oil and commodity stocks.
Dealers said strong gains on the Japanese market and bargain-hunting in select blue chips helped the benchmark Hang Seng Index close up 17.04 points or 0.11 per cent at 15,510.13.
TAIPEI: Share prices closed 0.42 per cent higher on bargain-hunting after recent losses, suggesting the market may have found a bottom.
The weighted index added 26.90 points at 6,486.47 on turnover of 66.84 billion Taiwan dollars (2.05 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Share prices closed 0.42 per cent lower, extending losses to a fourth day on persistent concerns over liquidity as metals and bank stocks came under pressure.
The Shanghai A-share Index fell 5.48 points to 1,306.39 on turnover of 7.49 billion yuan (930 million dollars) and the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 1.25 points or 0.40 per cent at 312.72 on turnover of 3.79 billion yuan.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B-shares, lost 5.22 points or 0.42 per cent at 1,245.17 on turnover of 7.57 billion yuan.
SYDNEY: Share prices staged a late rally to close 0.44 per cent higher as strength in the banking sector and strong jobs figures boosted the market.
The SP/ASX 200 rose 21.4 points to 4,894.4. A total of 1.16 billion shares worth 3.92 billion dollars (2.9 billion US) changed hands.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed flat in a market that lacked fresh leads.
The Straits Times Index was up 1.65 points at 2,504.25 on volume of 884 million shares at 914.8 million Singapore dollars (561 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.81 per cent higher, led by gains in construction stocks on hopes the sector will benefit from a forthcoming government development plan.
The composite index added 7.38 points at 920.91. Volume was 659.87 million shares worth 993.54 million ringgit (267 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.71 per cent higher, snapping back from recent sharp losses on gains in bank stocks but the broader market was kept in check due to concerns over the current political turmoil.
The composite index rose 5.13 points to 728.99 on turnover of 2.2 billion shares worth 12.9 billion baht (332 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.48 per cent higher on a technical rebound led by index heavyweight Astra International and selected banking stocks.
The composite index closed up 5.981 points at 1,239.577 on volume of 1.77 billion shares worth 1.36 trillion rupiah (146.55 million dollars).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed 0.62 per cent higher in volatile trading led by steel and software stocks.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 64.69 points to 10,573.54.
MANILA: Share prices closed 0.5 per cent higher as selective bargain-hunting in blue-chips provided support after two days of losses.
The composite index rose 10.51 points to 2,109.77. Volume was 618.4 million shares worth 869.6 million pesos (16.8 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.38 per cent higher in heavy trade after the central bank indicated interest rates would not go any higher.
The NZSX-50 gross index rose 13.20 points to 3,462.67 on turnover worth 220.8 million New Zealand dollars (143.5 million US).
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