Share prices in Hong Kong closed slightly lower yesterday after a fall on Wall Street, but late technical gains in some key stocks lifted the market off its lows, dealers said.

The key Hang Seng Index lost 8.18 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 9,560.29, off a low of 9,456.66, on turnover of HK$6.19 billion (US$796 million).

Dealers said underlying sentiment remained cautious after the overnight fall on Wall Street, coupled with ongoing geopolitical concerns.

"The local market is tracking the overnight fall on Wall Street after US President George Bush made sceptical comments (about Iraq) last night, which triggered further fears of war in Iraq," OCBC Securities Associate Director Peter Lai said.

Eugene Law, an analyst with Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, said several blue chips, including China Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa, staged technical rebounds in late trade.

Shares Up on Non-electronics

Taiwan shares gained 0.96 percent yesterday as investors switched to non-electronics stocks amid fears of a US-led attack on Iraq, dealers said. The weighted price index closed up 47.4 points at 4,993.27, off a low of 4,905.79, on turnover of NT$107.65 billion (US$3.08 billion).

Despite ample liquidity ahead of the Lunar New Year, the Bellwether electronics sector was weighed down by Wall Street's overnight weakness and Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou's unusual share disposal plan, the dealers said.

Motorola's upbeat earnings results and a positive chip industry book-to-bill ratio had failed to boost interest in electronics stocks, they added.

Gainers led losers 399 to 279, with 65 stocks unchanged. Some 116 stocks closed limit-up while 15 limit-down.

Nikkei Down on Profit-taking

Japanese share prices fell yesterday following declines on Wall Street and due to profit-taking after the market hit a two-week high the day before, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index fell 97.54 points, or 1.12 percent, to end the day at 8,611.04, while the Topix index of all first section issues finished down 9.58 points at 854.06. Decliners led gainers 1,059 to 331, with 104 issues unchanged. Volume was estimated at a heavy 1.02 billion shares.

(China Daily January 23, 2003)