Asian markets still wary over U.S. rates

Asian markets still wary over U.S. rates

HONG KONG (AFP): Asian markets closed yesterday with trade
marked by bargain hunting after losses earlier in the week
triggered by a fall on Wall Street and caution over fears of a
change in U.S. interest rates.

In Jakarta, share prices closed 0.6 percent lower yesterday on
continued selling and concerns over changes in U.S. interest
rates, dealers said.

"We are seeing no fresh incentives to ease the selling
pressures and even after this entire week of sell-offs, there is
still no sign of any rebound," an institutional sales
representative with a Hong Kong brokerage said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 4.19
points at 637. 43.

In Tokyo, share prices closed 1.5 percent lower yesterday,
with the key market gauge hit by futures-linked arbitrage selling
and sell-offs in finance, construction and retail sectors,
brokers said.

The Nikkei stock average of 225 selected issues on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange dropped 268.72 points to end the session at
17,860.59 points, while the broader Topix index of all first
section issues fell 10.88 points to 1, 369.82.

In Hong Kong, share prices rose 1.2 percent on bargain hunting
from sharp falls yesterday and despite a weaker U.S. market,
dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index gained
149.42 points to finish at 12,204.59.

In Singapore, blue-chip stocks ended 0.1 percent lower
yesterday amid uncertainty over the direction of Wall Street,
dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip benchmark, Straits
Times Industrials index, fell 2.30 points to end at 2,075.78
while the broader All-Singapore index gained 3.78 points to
514.48.

In Sydney, investors hunting for bargains in the wake of the
market slump earlier this week helped to push Australian shares
0.4 percent higher yesterday.

The Australian Stock Exchange's barometer, the all ordinaries
index, rose 8.5 points to close at 2,369.5. The all industrials
index finished 15 points higher at 3,704.3 while the all
resources index rose 3.2 points to 1, 343.4.

In Kuala Lumpur, key stock index ended 1.4 percent lower
yesterday as late institutional buying emerged to prevent further
falls.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite
index dipped 15.73 points to 1,136.78, after reaching an intra-
day low of 1,113.47. The lesser second board index shed 10.93
points, or 1.8 percent, to 607.82.

In Manila, share prices fell 1.4 percent yesterday reflecting
the fall of the Dow Jones and during a day that was interrupted
by a power failure on one of the Manila bourse's trading floors.

The Philippine Stock Exchange fell 44.18 points to 3,060.59.

In Seoul, share prices rebounded 1.3 percent on the Korea
Stock Exchange yesterday with bargain hunting focused on
petrochemicals and steel shares on improving business prospects,
dealers said.

The composite index closed up 8.68 points at 687.42.

In Bangkok, the broad-based Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)
index increased 8.08 points to 714.09 points, while the SET-50
index of selected counters closed 0. 87 points higher at 53.55
points.

The Thai market will be closed on Monday for a holiday.

In Taipei, market closed for public holiday.

In Wellington, the New Zealand 40-share capital index closed
down 0.38 points at 2,225.53.

In Shanghai, B stock exchange's B share index rose 0.22 points
to close at 73.49 points. The A share index of domestically-
traded shares rose 15.94 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at
1,321.66.