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Asian stocks lower as profit-taking sets in

HONG KONG: Shares fell in Asia on Thursday as dealers moved to lock in profits following four straight days of gains, while upbeat jobs news from Australia was unable to provide a lift.

Hong Kong led the falls, dropping one percent, while Tokyo shed 0.68 percent and Sydney 0.19 percent. There was also selling pressure in Seoul, which fell 1.39 percent.

TOKYO: Down 0.68 percent. The Nikkei-225 fell 67.19 points to 9,804.49. Investors were concerned about the possibility of more big share offerings by companies that could dilute the value of existing stocks, dealers said.

HONG KONG: Down 1.01 percent. The Hang Seng Index lost 229.64 points to 22,397.57.

SYDNEY: Down 0.19 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 gave up 9.1 points to 4,747.9. Rio Tinto rose 1.81 percent to 69.84, while BHP Billiton added 1.15 percent to 39.55.

SHANGHAI: Flat. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, finished down 2.25 points, or 0.07 percent, at 3,172.95.

SEOUL: Down 1.39 percent. The KOSPI fell 22.09 points to 1,572.73. Samsung Electronics was down two percent to 720,000 won and LG Electronics shed 2.7 percent to 105,500 won.

TAIPEI: Flat. The index rose 2.87 points, or 0.04 percent, to 7,670.93. The market has rebounded 6.25 percent since Monday last week.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.52 percent. The Straits Times Index closed down 14.19 points to 2,726.24. Banking shares closed mixed, with DBS Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp edging down two cents apiece to 14.12 and 8.13.

BANGKOK: Down 2.95 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand fell 21.18 points to 696.72. Thailand’s largest lender Bangkok Bank shed 3.00 baht to 113.50.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.13 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 1.60 points to 1,271.75. Banking group CIMB lost 0.9 percent to 12.90 ringgit while rubber glove manufacturer Top Glove shed 1.2 percent to 8.40.

JAKARTA: Up 0.68 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index gaiined 16.40 points to 2,420.28. Car distributor Astra International gained 5.7 percent to 32,800 rupiah.

MANILA: Up 0.88 percent. The index added 26.78 points to 3,073.92. With gold prices surging, top-traded gold producer Philex Mining ended unchanged at 19.50 pesos, accounting for 20.39 percent of the day’s turnover.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.33 percent. The NZX-50 rose 10.55 points to 3,172.09. Despite gains in overseas markets, local investors remained cautious, dealers said. afp

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