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HONG KONG, March 14 (AFP): Asian stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday following a mixed performance by Wall Street, a spike in the cost of crude and persistent fears over the prospect of interest rate hikes.
Tokyo slumped 0.75 per cent with profit takers cashing up on recent sharp gains while Taipei was among the worse on the day after its benchmark fell 1.29 per cent amid another bout of cross strait tensions.
Falls in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney were more modest while Mumbai, Shanghai and Manila were flat.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.75 per cent lower as investors locked in profits after three straight days of gains that had pushed the key index to a one-month high.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 123.15 points to 16,238.36 on turnover of 1.56 billion shares.
SEOUL: Share prices closed 0.9 per cent lower on heavy programme selling triggered by a futures sell-off from foreign investors.
The KOSPI index fell 11.98 points at 1,326.30. Volume was 344 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won (3.3 billion dollars).
HONG KONG: Share prices closed slightly lower, shedding 0.14 per cent as investors locked in profits in property and bank stocks amid persistent worries over the interest-rate environment.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 22.31 points at 15,519.76. Turnover was 23.12 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.0 billion US).
TAIPEI: Share prices closed 1.29 per cent lower, with investors unsettled by the latest hardline Chinese remarks over any push by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian towards independence.
The weighted index lost 84.62 points at 6,460.01 on turnover of 87.27 billion Taiwan dollars (2.69 billion US).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.21 per cent lower led by losses in banking, particularly DBS Bank which has entered a South Korean takeover race.
The Straits Times Index closed down 5.44 points at 2,506.70 on volume of 1.09 billion shares worth 988 million Singapore dollars (610 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.25 per cent higher on last-minute buying by retail investors and interest in selected blue chips and lower liners.
The composite index gained 2.34 points at 924.37 on volume of 902.21 million shares worth 824.23 million ringgit (221.63 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.78 per cent higher, led by energy stocks, but the broader market was kept in check against a backdrop of continued protests calling for the premier's resignation.
The composite index rose 5.75 points to 738.63 on turnover of 2.1 billion shares worth 11.0 billion baht (282 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent firmer with gains in nickel miner INCO and select banks led by Bank Mandiri, offsetting profit-taking elsewhere in the market.
The composite index closed up 1.718 points at 1,245.379 on volume of 2.69 billion shares worth 1.39 trillion rupiah (150.35 million dollars).
MANILA: Share prices closed flat in sluggish trade as the market entered a consolidation phase.
The composite index slipped 0.77 points to 2,120.99. Volume reached 420.7 million shares worth 1.25 billion pesos (24.5 million dollars)
MUMBAI: Share prices closed flat, breaking a three-day rally, as retail investors and overseas funds booked profits.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index closed 1.99 points down or 0.02 per cent at 10,801.72.
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