Shares close mixed in Asia-Pacific
Shares close mixed in Asia-Pacific
TOKYO (AFP): Japanese share prices closed 0.4 percent lower on
profit taking yesterday while other Asia-Pacific markets were
mixed, brokers said.
The leading barometer of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 79.15
points to finish the session at 18,990.92 while the broader Topix
index of all shares on the first section closed 9.17 points lower
at 1,416.20.
In Jakarta, share prices closed 1.6 percent higher Wednesday
on buying by foreign investors, dealers said.
A dealer with a Hong Kong brokerage said he believed foreign
investors' confidence had improved despite the approaching
general elections.
The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index rose 11.30 points
to 712.61.
In Hong Kong, stocks closed 0.2 percent higher after profit-
taking reduced early sharp gains, dealers said.
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index rose
21.57 points to 13,541.83.
In Sydney, the Australian Stock Exchange's key barometer, the
all ordinaries index, fell 17.7 points to 2,483.1.
In Kuala Lumpur, the 100-share weighted composite index fell
6.2 points to 1,265.37, after reaching an intra-day high of
1,278.94. The lesser second board index shed 3.89 points, or 0.6
percent, to 640.03.
In Singapore, the blue-chip barometer, Straits Times
Industrials index, rose 14.10 points to 2,216.07 while the
broader All-Singapore index gained 1.86 points to 561.36.
In Bangkok, the broad-based Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)
index was up 0.07 points at 739.82 points, while the selected SET
50 index advanced 0.05 point to 54. 78 points.
In Shanghai, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's B share index rose
0.44 points to close at 66.73 points. The A share index of
domestically-traded shares rose 14.37 points, or 1.4 percent, to
1,078.20.
In Taipei, the Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index fell
156.87 points to 7,730. 49.
In Seoul, the composite index slid 3.10 points to finish at
679.71.
In Manila, the Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell
13.26 points to close at 3,349.82 points.
In Wellington, the New Zealand Stock Exchange-40 capital index
fell 10.34 points to 2,290. 14.
In New York, stocks rallied late Tuesday in a carbon copy of
the previous day's performance, but the market still had a
cautious tone ahead of Wednesday's Congressional testimony by
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed, Tuesday, up 29.63
points at 7,037.83, which was within flirting distance of its
record close of 7,067.46 set one week ago. On Monday, the index
soared 77 points.
In the broader market, advancing issues led declines by a
small margin on active volume of 529 million shares on the New
York Stock Exchange.
In London, share prices here rose slightly early yesterday on
publication of figures showing an unexpected fall in Britain's
trade deficit, outweighing caution before a speech by Greenspan's
speech.
In early trading, the FT-SE 100 index of leading shares was
showing a gain of 3.2 points at 4,347.9.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index of leading shares opened 1.42 points
lower at 2, 606.30.
Britain's global trade deficit contracted to 845 million
pounds ($1.38 billion) in December from a revised figure of 1.037
billion pounds in November, official figures showed on Wednesday.