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Asian market highlight

HONG KONG : Hong Kong stocks closed sharply lower after index futures took a steep early dive in a thin pre-weekend market, brokers said.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index ended off 90.80 points, or 0.83 percent, at 10,818.49, against an early low of 10,786.65. Turnover dipped to HK$3.18 billion from Thursday's adjusted HK$3.20 billion.

"The market may be down a lot on futures-related activity, but trade is extremely dull and participation interest minimal because of a lack of fresh news to trade on," said Kinson Au of PW Asia Brokerage. "For now, support at 10,800 is still holding and the next floor will be 10,600, while 11,200 looks toppish."

BANGKOK : Thai stocks closed lower for the third day in a row after investors sold blue-chip bank stocks on concerns that banks' earnings during the first quarter would fall below earlier projections, brokers said.

The SET index closed 12.76 points, or 0.96 percent, down at 1,318.38 on 6.3 billion baht turnover. Decliners led gainers 219 to 102 while 115 issues were unchanged.

"Investors sold bank stocks after they noticed that Thai Farmers Bank's net profit during the first quarter was below earlier expectation," said Itphong Saengtubtim of Nava Finance and Securities.

BOMBAY : Closed for public holiday.

COLOMBO : Sri Lanka stocks closed lower in foreign driven trade, brokers said.

The Colombo Stock Exchange all share index closed 3.97 points down at 657.90, on turnover of 40.72 million rupees.

JAKARTA : Jakarta shares ended higher in active trading on the back of improved sentiment over higher GDP growth figures, brokers said.

The Jakarta composite index rose 3.56 points, or 0.57 percent, to close at 624.53 points. Brokers said sentiment was generally firm following Thursday's announcement of high GDP growth and per capita income.

KUALA LUMPUR : Moderate buying interest lifted both blue chips and second liners to a higher finish in a generally subdued session.

Little fresh news emerged to sway the market's direction, and selective buying, mostly in the Second Board, kept the tone positive. "Locals are buying quite a bit," said one institutional dealer with a domestic firm.

"But foreigners for us tended to be net sellers. There's still nibbling on some blue chips," the dealer added. The key Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index edged up 4.92 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,172.20, just under its 1,172.51 high for the day.

MANILA : The Philippine bourse closed only slightly lower with a rise in selected counters shielding the index from a sharp drop in heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co, brokers said.

The 30-stock index slid by 0.82 points, or 0.03 percent, to finish at 2,957.99.

"Except for a number of blue chips, most listed companies are expected to post strong profits for the first quarter," Carlos Jalandoni of Abacus Securities Corp said.

SEOUL : A surge in institutional buying late in the session coupled with active trading by individuals and foreigners pushed Seoul's stock index to a new closing high for this year.

The composite index provisionally closed 11.48 points, or 1.23 percent, higher at 948.37. The previous closing high for this year was 936.89 set on Thursday.

Trading was volatile, and hit a low of 935.67 in early trading. "There was a sort of see-saw effect between foreigners and individuals buying and institutions selling," said Jay Kwon of First Securities.

SHANGHAI : Shanghai's B share index ended higher, led by a rise in Pudong shares, but trade was modest as many investors waited for the listing of Heilongjiang Electric Power next Monday, brokers said.

The index rose 0.483 point, or 0.98 percent, to 49.907 on volume of 3.8 million shares worth $1.3 million. Of 36 B share issues, 30 were traded, with 16 rising, 10 unchanged and four losing ground.

Shanghai's A share index closed up 18.948 points, or 3.04 percent, to 641.600 on volume of 408.5 million shares worth 2.4 billion yuan.

SHENZHEN : Shenzhen's A share index rose, fuelled by the strong debut of Xibei Bearing.

The A share index gained 0.46 point to end at 132.66, with turnover at 1.66 billion yuan from 1.05 billion on Thursday.

The class B index rose 0.28 point to end at 60.64 as turnover swelled to HK$8.37 million from HK$6.49 million on Thursday.

SINGAPORE : Singapore shares finished higher, thanks to a last-minute buying spree on an otherwise quiet day.

Volume was a moderate 108.32 million units.

The key Straits Times Industrials (STI) Index ended 11.41 points, or 0.48 percent, higher at 2,399.33, off an intraday low of 2,381.90. It briefly touched 2,402.58, above the psychological resistance level of 2,400.

SYDNEY : The Australian share market closed firmer, stumbling higher in the afternoon after spending the day rangebound with little direction or leads to enthuse investors.

The All Ordinaries index was 9.2 points, or 0.41 percent, higher at 2,265.8.

The June share price index was five points higher at 2,289, a 23.2-point premium to the underlying index.

Brokers said trading was subdued, with the market only shaking itself out of its pre-weekend stupor late in the day to cement some modest gains.

TAIPEI : Taiwan share prices ended mixed as the market settled into a consolidation after recent wild sessions, brokers said.

The weighted index, staying within a narrow range all day, ended up 2.87 points, or 0.05 percent, to 5,945.67. Turnover was T$62.96 billion.

The market, which had gained nearly 1,000 points from the beginning of April until last week, had exhausted much of its upward momentum as buying interest abated, brokers said.

WELLINGTON : The New Zealand share market ended virtually unchanged.

The NZSE-40 capital index finished the session down by 0.17 points or 0.01 percent to 2,147.46.