HONG KONG, July 11: Asian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday with many markets peaking at 52-week highs or beyond following a fall in oil prices to below $60 a barrel and a rally on Wall Street. The positive sentiment in New York was underpinned by strong US employment figures, with the passing of Hurricane Dennis in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico erasing fears of damage to refining facilities.
Shanghai was also lower despite further efforts by regulators to support the sale of non-tradable state-owned shares, while Thailand continued its slump amid on-going concerns over the health of the local economy.
Elsewhere, market gains were in the order of 0.8 to 1.8 per cent and were being mirrored in early European trade where bourses were striking three-year highs.
TOKYO: Share prices closed 0.94 per cent higher as sharp gains on Wall Street and a drop in oil prices eased fears about global economic growth.
The Nikkei-225 index rose 108.80 points to 11,674.79 on volume of 1.3 billion shares, down from 1.6 billion Friday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 1.38 per cent higher following Wall Street’s gains last Friday and a retreat in oil prices below the 60 dollars a barrel level.
The Hang Seng Index closed up 192.77 points at 14,157.24. Turnover was 16.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.2 billion US dollars).
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed up 1.14 per cent at a 52-week high after the government said the economy grew a faster-than-expected 3.9 per cent in the second quarter.
The Straits Times Index rose 25.2 points to 2,241.19 on volume of 714 million shares valued at 729.42 million Singapore dollars.
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.63 per cent higher on the back of Wall Street’s gains last Friday and light bargain hunting by institutional funds in blue chips.
The composite index added 5.71 points to 909.32 while volume traded was 389.65 million shares worth 671.19 million ringgit.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.16 per cent higher, in line with firmer regional markets following strong gains on Wall Street after solid US employment data.
The composite index closed up 12.905 points at 1,123.462 on volume of 1.59 billion shares worth 865.16 billion rupiah (88.23 million dollars).
BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.39 per cent lower with investors brooding over a raft of worrying economic signs and ignoring the latest ease in oil prices and a rally on Wall Street.
The composite index dropped 2.49 points to close at 640.82 on turnover of 1.9 billion shares worth 12.3 billion baht (294.4 million dollars).
PTT Plc dropped 2.00 at 210.00 but PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 376.00. Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial bank all closed 0.50 baht higher at 96.00, 52.00 and 43.50 respectively.
MUMBAI: Share prices closed at a record high, gaining 1.31 per cent on overseas fund buying in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings from software companies this week, dealers said.
The Mumbai stock exchange’s 30-share Sensex rose 94.66 points to close at 7,306.74, beating the previous record of 7,287.60 set on July 6.
The Sensex also reached a record intra-day trading level of 7,308.72.—AFP
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