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Asian market highlights

HONG KONG : An eleventh:hour surge of European buying drove the blue:chip Hang Seng index up 185.45 points, or 2.07 percent, to end at 9,132.64.

"Buying orders were coming in in the afternoon from foreign funds," said Jenny Ting, senior analyst at Mansion House Securities.

The rally was the strongest since the main index put on 255 points on July 7.

Dealers said early trading was dominated by local investors buying in anticipation of good interim results on Thursday from tycoon Li Ka:shing's main companies, Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa.

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BANGKOK : Thai stocks closed higher in moderate trade as bargain hunters bought discounted bank and finance issues, brokers said.

The SET index rallied 20.19 points, or 1.53 percent, to end at 1,342.59.

"Investors had waited for the right time to buy these shares," an Ekachart broker said.

"Bank shares were attractive after their solid performance in the first six months," an analyst at a foreign house said.

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KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian shares closed lower after another uneventful session with no fresh incentives to lure investors back into the market, brokers said.

The key Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's Composite Index ended down 1.55 points to 1,028.35.

Brokers said trading was again dominated by retail players but interest was selective.

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MANILA : Philippine shares sank lower at the close, breaching the 2,800:point support level as investors cashed in their gains made early in the session, brokers said.

The 30:share composite index shed 13.38 points to end at 2,787.92.

"I was looking forward to a technical rally, but inflation fears and reports of a rush in kidnappings continued to bug the market," Patrick Garcia, at L.M. Garcia and Associates, said.

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SEOUL : South Korean stocks closed higher for the fifth consecutive session on a technical rebound in manufacturing blue chips and other shares which had fallen sharply of late, brokers said.

They said buying interest should continue on Thursday.

The index closed at 925.81, up 8.02 points.

"Market energy today seemed to be stronger than we had earlier expected," a Donsuh Securities broker said.

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SINGAPORE : Shares closed almost unchanged after retracing earlier gains, brokers said.

The 30:share Straits Times Industrials Index closed at 2,106.52, up just 0.85 of a point.

"The market was uneventful and prices ended almost unchanged after moving in a narrow trade range," one of them said.

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SYDNEY : The Australian share market closed lower after a sharp fall in News Corp shares on lower:than:expected profit figures, which were released late on Tuesday.

The All Ordinaries index closed 2.7 points down at 2,101.60.

Market players cited the 4.9 percent fall in News Corp Ltd's shares as the reason for the main All Ordinaries index finishing weaker.

"Once a heavyweight stock such as News Corp takes a knock then the index usually comes with it," a Sydney broker said.

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TAIPEI : Late selling pulled Taiwan share prices off early highs to finish lower, as investors stepped to the sidelines amid political uncertainty over the outcome of the ruling Nationalist Party's key congress on Wednesday, brokers said.

The index lost 53.84 points, or 1.12 percent, to close at 4,753.37 on thin turnover.

The index was higher in early trade led by the Nationalist:related shares, such as Nationalist:controlled companies, state:run firms, banks and conglomerates, in a bid by investors to show their support to the ruling party. "The late selling showed a lack of investors' confidence," Allen Huang of National Securities said.

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WELLINGTON : New Zealand shares ended firm but off the day's highs after a mixed session.

Brokers said weakness in Australia may have acted to push the NZSE:40 Capital Index off its high of 2,121.97. The index ended 4.33 points up at 2,116.30.-Reuter