Asian stockmarket summary

Asian stockmarket summary

	Published : Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:32 By : Agencies Print this Story

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - A summary of Asian stockmarket trading Wednesday:

TOKYO

Share prices closed flat after directionless trading during which investors digested the weaker-than-expected core private-sector machinery orders for February and then began looking ahead to the corporate earnings reporting season here and in the US. The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average finished 5.38 points higher at 17,670.07.

HONG KONG

Share prices closed higher as another record finish on the mainland's A-share bourses helped the market reverse modest losses posted in the morning session due to profit-taking. China stocks, notably financials, led the gains while local property plays and blue chips were weak ahead of the release of US Federal Reserve meeting minutes tonight and key US inflation data in the next few days. The Hang Seng Index closed up 101.56 points at 20,449.43.

CHINA

A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed higher on continued strong buying interest, with banks and steelmakers gaining ground. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 50.93 points at 3,495.22. The Shanghai A-share Index was up 54.06 points at 3,674.37 and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 10.62 points at 971.39. B-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed lower on profit-taking after recent strong gains. The Shanghai B-share Index was down 1.39 points at 188.01 and the Shenzhen B-share Index was down 3.87 points at 543.26.

TAIPEI

Share prices closed higher as sentiment was bolstered by Wall Street's extended gains overnight. The market gained further momentum as some local firms reported better-than-expected sales and earnings for the first quarter to March. The weighted index closed up 36.06 points at 8,084.45.

SEOUL

Share prices closed higher, with foreign investors actively buying large cap IT stocks following overnight gains on Wall Street, catapulting the main index to a new record high. The KOSPI index closed up 14.26 points at 1,513.42.

MANILA

Share prices closed mixed in light trade as the market took a breather following recent gains as profit-taking in select blue chips like Megaworld Corp and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) pulled down the main index after a five-day advance. At the close, the 30-company composite index was down 10.21 points at 3,294.21.

SINGAPORE

Share prices closed lower after the market's recent record-breaking run prompted investors to take profits. The Straits Times index was down 2 points at 3,420.62.

KUALA LUMPUR

Share prices closed marginally lower on late profit-taking in select blue chips as investors turned cautious ahead of the first quarter earnings season in the US, though plantation stocks defied the trend to close mostly higher on the sector's bullish outlook. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was down 0.12 point at 1,306.22.

JAKARTA

Share prices closed higher with gains in selected blue chips led by Telkom helping the main index touch a fresh all-time intraday high. The composite index closed up 5.573 points at a new all time high of 1,931.044.

AUSTRALIA

Share prices closed mixed as late profit taking weighed on positive investor sentiment following recent M&A activity and the ongoing rises in base metal markets boosting the resources sector. The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 1.6 points at 6,151.4, The All Ordinaries index ended flat from yesterday's record close of 6,136.1 but set a new intra-day high of 6,159.1.