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).