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HONG KONG, March 11 (AFP): Asian stocks closed mixed Friday with Tokyo registering further gains after the Bank of Japan announced a return to a more conventional monetary policy.
Tokyo climbed a further 0.49 per cent after the central bank abandoned its super loose monetary policy, although gains were capped by weaker than expected machinery orders. Seoul followed suit, ending a three-day sell-down.
TOKYO: Share prices rose for a second straight day on optimism that the end to the central bank's ultra-loose monetary policy reflects a stronger economy.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 78.72 points or 0.49 per cent to 16,115.63 on turnover of 2.44 billion shares.
SEOUL: Share prices closed 0.68 per cent higher, snapping a three-day losing streak on foreign investor support, with large cap IT stocks and POSCO leading the gains.
The KOSPI index rose 8.86 points at 1,320.07. Volume was 276 million shares worth 3.1 trillion won (3.2 billion dollars).
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.42 per cent lower as investors remained cautious due to interest-rate worries and ahead of key US employment data due later in the day.
The Hang Seng Index lost 65.08 points at 15,445.05. Turnover was 25.21 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.2 billion US).
TAIPEI: Share prices closed flat as investors stayed on the sidelines amid a prevailing sense of caution after President Chen Shui-bian's recent tightening of China policy.
The weighted index rose 4.21 points at 6,490.68 on turnover of 83.86 billion Taiwan dollars (2.57 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.3 per cent lower, in line with Wall Street's losses overnight and on fresh concerns oil prices could head higher once again.
The Straits Times Index fell 7.52 points at 2,496.73. Traded volume totalled 889 million shares worth 821.6 million Singapore dollars (504 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed with a slight gain of 0.11 per cent on selected buying of blue chips.
The composite index gained 1.05 points to 921.96 on volume of 626.05 million shares worth 924.50 million ringgit (248.52 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.11 per cent lower as the country braced for next week's mass protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The composite index fell 0.81 points to 728.18 on turnover of 2.0 billion shares worth 10.1 billion baht (260 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.63 per cent higher led by a rebound in index heavyweights Astra International, Bank Central Asia and Bank Rakyat Indonesia.
The composite index rose 7.845 points at 1,247.422 on volume of 882.70 million shares worth 1.24 trillion rupiah (132.33 million dollars).
MANILA: Share prices closed 0.3 per cent lower as the market consolidated in the face of the downturn on Wall Street and the release of disappointing January export figures.
The composite index slipped 6.40 points to 2,103.3. Volume was 935.87 million shares worth 730.3 million pesos (14.19 million dollars.)
MUMBAI: Share prices rose 1.81 per cent to a record close on strong overseas fund and retail buying, led by software, banking and automobile stocks.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 191.62 points to 10,765.16.
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