Asian stocks close mostly down
Asian stocks closed mostly down Thursday after the oil price rose to a fresh all-time high, triggering a Wall Street tumble and stoking fears of rising inflation.
The Japanese market, the biggest in Asia, fell by more than one percent. Singapore also suffered a heavy tumble, sliding over 1.7 percent. The bourses in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and India also ended in the red.
The weaker Asian performance followed a sharp Wall Street slide of more than 1.5 percent on Wednesday. Soaring crude prices triggered the US fall, with investors fearing energy costs would stoke inflation and hit consumer spending.
World oil prices continued their record-breaking run Thursday, reaching a fresh intra-day peak of nearly 124 dollars per barrel.
Results from Japan's biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., also gave investors pause for thought. The firm's forecasts indicated business would be tough amid a US economic slowdown following the global financial crisis.
Toyota reported Thursday record profit of 16.4 billion dollars for the financial year to March, but warned it expected that figure to plunge more than 27 percent in the 12 months to March 2009.
It cited a weak US economy, a stronger yen and soaring raw material costs for what would be its first drop in profits for nearly a decade.
US Secretary Treasury Henry Paulson said in a report Wednesday that the global financial crisis was waning, although he warned that more shocks were ahead.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices fell back from a near four-month high following overnight losses on Wall Street, where surging oil prices and inflation worries weighed on sentiment, dealers said.
The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 159.22 points or 1.13 percent to close at 13,943.26. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 20.33 points or 1.46 percent to 1,372.95.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 0.63 percent, dealers said. The Hang Seng index closed down 160.42 points at 25,449.79. Turnover was 76.95 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.87 billion US).
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed up 2.17 percent, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 77.69 points at 3,656.84 on turnover of 108.8 billion yuan (15.5 billion dollars).
TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed 0.67 percent lower, dealers said. The weighted index closed down 59.72 points at 8,866.62. Turnover was 136.79 billion Taiwan dollars (4.45 billion US).
SEOUL: South Korean shares closed 0.3 percent lower, dealers said. The KOSPI closed down 6.01 points at 1,848.00. Volume was 6.0 trillion won (5.7 billion dollars).
The central bank held interest rates steady at 5.0 percent and revised its growth forecast lower.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed down 1.77 percent, dealers said. The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 57.07 points to 3,171.88 on volume of 1.59 billion shares worth 2.06 billion Singapore dollars (1.50 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.5 percent lower, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) closed down 6.8 points at 1,280.35.
BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 0.17 percent higher, dealers said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 1.46 points to close at 850.17, while the blue-chip SET 50 index gained 2.55 points to 615.50.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 0.2 percent lower, dealers said. The Jakarta Composite Index closed down 5.77 points at 2,376.93.
MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 0.8 percent higher, dealers said. The composite index put on 21.19 points to 2,760.62. The all-share index was up 11.28 points at 1,723.68.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 1.49 percent lower, dealers said. The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex fell 258.66 points to 17,080.65.
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