Asian marts close mixed; JSX surges

Asian marts close mixed; JSX surges

HONG KONG (AP): Asian stock markets closed mixed Thursday, with shares in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea losing ground amid sluggish demand from investors.

In Jakarta, Indonesian shares climbed as foreign investors snapped up blue-chip stocks made cheaper by recent losses. The JSX Composite Index ended up 18.748 points, or 4.1 percent, to 478.20.

Japan's benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 140.62 points, or 0.82 percent, to 17,004.34, despite recent gains in the U.S. markets.

Traders said investors remained cautious ahead of the release on Friday of Japan's gross domestic product data for the January- March period.

"Players largely took a wait-and-see stance, and trading was led mostly by dealers and individual investors," said Hiroichi Nishi, deputy general manager at Nikko Securities Co.

In Hong Kong, shares fell after investors dumped banking and property counters, snapping a seven-day rally.

The blue-chip Hang Seng index dropped 23.13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,876.93. The index had gained more than 2,000 points in the past seven trading sessions.

In Taipei, shares declined, led by technology stocks, as investors worry about the future direction of such stocks on Wall Street.

The Weighted Price Index closed down 47.59 points, or 0.5 percent, to 9,067.88.

South Korean stocks slumped as investors cashed in on gains from the past six sessions, analysts said.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, closed down 22.43 points, or 2.7 percent, to 800.11.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 77.29 to 10,812.86 Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite index gained 82.89 to close at 3,839.26.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar bought 105.68 Japanese yen in late trading, up 0.44 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and also above its late New York level of 105.50 yen overnight.

In Manila, Philippine shares rose, following heavy losses in the previous day. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index edged up 14.80 points, or 1 percent, to 1,537.13.

In Wellington, New Zealand shares were little changed as gains from blue-chip counters were offset by a 2.2 percent decline of market heavyweight Telecom Corp. of New Zealand. The NZSE-40 capital index ended at 2,054.54 points, down 0.33 points, or 0.02 percent.

In Sydney, Australian shares rose, led by telecommunications and technology stocks, such as Telstra Corp. The All Ordinaries Index gained 12.6 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,083.4.

In Singapore, shares rose, boosted by demand in blue chips such as Singapore Press Holdings and Singapore Telecommunications. The Straits Times Index rose 25.40 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,060.27.

In Bangkok, Thai shares edged up on recent Wall Street gains. The SET Composite Index was up 3.75 points, or 1.1 percent, to 344.58.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian shares fell as foreign investors sold them in favor of cheaper stocks from other regional markets.

The Composite Index fell 13.00 points, or 1.5 percent, to 842.24.