Asian stocks end mixed as foreign buying continues

Asian stocks end mixed as foreign buying continues

SINGAPORE (AFP): Asian stock markets ended mixed Wednesday with some extending their gains on steady inflows of foreign funds and others pulling back after an overnight fall on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the barometer of US blue- chip stocks, fell 128.58 points (1.2 percent) to 10.886,11 points Tuesday, slipping from its record close above 11,000 points Monday.

With Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul closed for a holiday, Singapore rose 1.7 percent, Kuala Lumpur firmed 1.8 percent to hit its highest level in 13 months, and Hong Kong edged up for its fifth straight gain.

Indonesian share prices jumped 2.6 percent and Shanghai ended 2.9 percent higher.

But Australian, New Zealand and Taiwan shares eased on Wall Street blues and the Philippine market ended lower on profit- taking.

Most Asian stock markets have performed strongly in recent weeks in a rally fueled by signs that sick regional economies are beginning to heal, and a spillover of liquidity from U.S. and European markets.

Financial and property counters led Wednesday's market gains.

In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times index rose 33.28 points to end at 1,965.18 while the broader All-Singapore index was up 8.89 points to 539.14.

"There are still strong liquidity flows, there is no real sign of it letting up yet," a dealer with a local brokerage said.

In Jakarta, Indonesian share prices jumped 2.6 percent led by banks on speculation that more foreign banks are set to buy into local institutions, dealers said.

A dealer at a Singapore brokerage firm said active trade in the banking sector reflected a belief the government will need to bring in foreign banks to help it carry out its recapitalization program.

"The market is now speculating that after Standard Chartered and ANZ Bank, there will many more foreign banks interested in buying local banks.

Britain's Standard Chartered bank has agreed to acquire control of Indonesia's Bank Bali. The joint-venture ANZ Panin Bank has won a bid to acquire the defunct PT Bank Papan Sejahtera's credit card division.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 15.59 points at 563.84.

In Hong Kong, share prices edged up 0.2 percent to post their fifth consecutive gain. The key Hang Seng index rose 26.52 points to close at 13,586.21.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index soared 1.8 percent to breach the 700-point psychological barrier on the back of local and foreign buying, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 12.31 points to finish at 710.59, the highest level since April last year.

In Sydney, Australian share prices slumped 1.4 percent as profit taking. The Australian Stock Exchange's key All Ordinaries index ended 42.4 points lower at 3,041.7.

In Manila, Philippine share prices closed 0.7 percent lower on profit-taking as the release of data showing lower inflation in April failed to cheer investors, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 17.17 points to finish at 2,447.67.

In Taipei, Taiwan share prices slipped 0.2 percent as investors locked away profits from the previous day's strong gains, analysts said.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted index lost 15.88 points to 7,572.16.

In Shanghai, B-share index, which tracks shares nominally reserved for foreigners, closed 0.78 points higher at 28.08. The A-share index of locally traded stocks rose 5.24 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,187.90.

In Auckland, New Zealand shares fell 1.4 percent due to a pullback on Wall Street, dealers said.

The NZSE-40 was down 32.58 points to 2,234.32.