Jakarta blast sends Asian shares lower

Jakarta blast sends Asian shares lower

TOKYO (AFP): Share prices in most Asian markets ended lower on
Thursday with sentiment in southeast Asia hurt by the deadly bomb
blast at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building a day earlier.

The Jakarta market was closed Thursday after 10 people were
killed by a bomb in the basement of the exchange building and
would be reopen on Monday.

Tokyo share edged up 0.1 percent as Japanese high-technology
shares got a boost from the US Nasdaq market.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index rose 22.76 points
to close at 16,213.28.

"The Nikkei index was supported by gains in hi-tech shares,
particularly those in the semiconductor sector," said Toshiaki
Yui, market analyst at Nomura Securities.

In Hong Kong, share prices fell 1.4 percent amid liquidity
concerns ahead of a series of major share offers.

The Hang Seng index shed 234.35 points to close at 16,395.43,
off a high of 16,623.10, on turnover of HK$10.48 billion (US$1.35
billion).

Peter Lai, associate director of OCBC Securities, said the
Hang Seng Index fell on follow-through selling, as investors
remained unsettled about high oil prices and the high valuation
of hi-tech and telecom stocks.

In Sydney: Australian share prices rose by 0.3 percent on the
back of momentum generated by gains in local bourse heavyweights
Telstra, BHP and News Corp.

The benchmark All Ordinaries index rose 8.6 points to 3,294.1
and the SP/ASX200 climbed 10.5 points to 3,344.6.

Dicksons' senior analyst Michael Heffernan said that once
trading in BHP, Telstra, News Corp and National Australia Bank
was discounted, the local market was best described as "subdued".

"It's very subdued, very mixed out there," he said.

In Singapore, share prices fell 0.2 percent on renewed
currency volatility following a deadly bomb blast in Jakarta's
financial center.

The Straits Times Index dropped 5.07 points to 2,077.02 while
the broader All-Singapore Equities edged down 3.25 points to
551.34.

It was the eighth consecutive fall for the index, which has
already lost 113.04 points, or 5.16 percent, since September 4.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian shares ended 0.3 percent higher on
follow-through buying support for key blue chips.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index closed up 2.1
points at 747.17, off a high of 754.42 and a low of 744.07.

A senior analyst with a foreign brokerage said the index
initially rose on light extended buying, mainly of key blue chips
such as Maybank and Telekom Malaysia.

In Seoul, South Korean share prices fell 0.5 percent on heavy
foreign selling of major companies, prompted by the expiry of
futures and options contracts.

The Korea Stock Exchange index closed down 3.54 points at
650.14.

The market opened weak but rebounded later as institutional
buying offset early losses, dealers said.

In Manila, Philippine share prices fell 2.6 percent, spooked
by a bomb explosion at Indonesia's stock exchange building and a
weakening of the local currency.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 39.25
points to close at 1,450.15.

It fell more than three percent in early trade but recovered
slightly on last-minute bargain hunting, analysts said.

"The Jakarta bombing has affected trading and foreign funds
are dissuaded from putting money in a similar market -- and
Indonesia and the Philippines are similar markets," said Cilette
Liboro of Orion Squire Capital Inc.

In Taipei, Taiwan share prices closed 3.2 percent lower to
this year's low on concerns over further offloading of stocks by
foreign institutional investors.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index dived 239.37
points to 7,152.29, on turnover of 75.47 billion Taiwan dollars
(US$2.43 billion).

In Bombay, Indian share prices on the Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) closed 0.7 percent lower as traders unwound long positions
on disappointment over the Infosys and Microsoft deal.

The benchmark 30-share BSE sensitive index closed down 30.60
points at 4,671.92 points.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices closed 1.1 percent lower as
foreign investors continued to sell blue-chip stocks.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index dropped
3.34 points to finish at 287.21 and the SET 50 index was off 0.27
points at 19.92.

Selling by foreign investors in large companies and blue-chips
helped drag the market down, said Capital Normura Securities
analyst Sukij Udomsirikul.

In Shanghai, the B-shares closed 0.8 percent lower in thin
turnover as most investors remained sidelined amid a lack of
news.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange's B-share index, which tracks
shares nominally reserved for foreigners, dipped 0.55 points to
close at 68.52 on a thin turnover of 95.51 million yuan (US$11.54
million).

In Wellington, New Zealand shares rose 0.9 percent, spurred by
gains in Telecom New Zealand and Fletcher Challenge Energy.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed up 18.68 points at 2,080.52
on high turnover of NZ$164.5 million (US$74.3 million).