Share prices in Hong Kong closed 0.65 percent lower yesterday on a lack of local incentives after falls on Wall Street, dealers said.

The key Hang Seng Index lost 62.57 points to close at 9,552.02 on turnover of HK$5.01 billion (US$643 million).

Dealers said many investors elected to remain on the sidelines ahead of a market holiday in the United States yesterday.

"The market followed the decline on Wall Street on Friday," said Y.K. Chan, CF Brokerage investment strategist.

"There was little news anywhere in the market to prompt any interest and with the US markets closed tonight, investors were quite cautious."

Shares Close Up Slightly

Taiwan shares closed up yesterday as buying of non-electronics stocks offset weakness in the high-tech sector after losses on Wall Street, dealers said.

The weighted price index closed up 43.25 points, or 0.88 percent at 4,951.03, on turnover of NT$84.69 billion (US$2.5 billion).

Dealers said local electronics shares tracked their US counterparts lower with investors wary of the weak US economic outlook and afraid of the US launch of military attacks on Iraq.

"Foreign investors unloaded their electronics holdings and local investors followed suit," Yunda Security Investment Consultant Vice-President Tom Tang said.

"Domestic fund managers shifted their portfolios from electronics to old-economy stocks, chasing prices higher."

Dealers said buying in non-electronic stocks was mainly the result of ample liquidity.

Nikkei Lower 1.5 Percent

Japanese share prices fell 1.51 percent yesterday as high-tech stocks declined due to the rise in the yen, but this was partly offset by bargain hunting in banks, dealers said.

The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 131.43 points to end at 8,558.82. The broader Topix index of all first section issues slipped 5.35 points to 853.90.

Gainers led decliners 908 to 486, with 100 stocks unchanged. Volume was estimated at 926 million shares.

Yumi Tomita, market analyst at Ark Securities, said investors prefer to hunt for bargains in battered domestic-demand stocks, including banks, for the time being, rather than buy high-tech issues.

(China Daily January 21, 2003)