Most Asian shares drop on profit-taking, China worries

       BANGKOK 652.40 -5.88
       The Thai stock market slipped 0.89%yesterday on profit-taking after recent gains, an analyst said.
       The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET )composite index fell 5.88 points to close at 652.40, while the blue-chip SET-50 index lost 4.03 points to close at 466.77.
       Losers led gainers 236 to 133 and 95 stocks were unchanged on turnover of 5.7 billion shares worth 22.7 billion baht (US$666.8 million).
       The Thai baht closed unchanged at 34.02-03 to one dollar while the unit rose against the euro to close at 48.50-54, compared to Wednesday's close of 48.67-70.
       TOKYO 10,473.97 -165.74
       Shares skidded lower yesterday as a stronger yen and weak Chinese stocks encouraged investors to lock in gains after the market reached a near 11-month high, dealers said.
       The benchmark Nikkei-225 index fell 165.74 points, or 1.56%, to 10,473.97, a day after finishing at the best level since October 3.
       The broader Topix index of all first section shares declined 11.36 points, or 1.16%, to 964.23.
       Investors reacted nervously after the Chinese authorities said they would try to rein in overcapacity in industries including steel and cement.
       Expor ters were also under pressure after the dollar fell back below the 94-yen level, darkening the outlook for overseas earnings.
       Global stock markets have risen sharply in recent weeks and investors are becoming anxious about whether tentative signs of an improvement in the global economy will continue as the effect of government stimulus spending fades.
       Players are now wondering whether the emerging recovery trends are sustainable without temporary boosts by government policies," Mizuho Securities market analyst Yukio Takahashi told Dow Jones Newswires.
       Political uncertainty also kept buyers at bay ahead of Japan's election Sunday,with voter sur veys suggesting Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling party is likely to be swept from power after half a century of almost unbroken rule.
       It has become nearly certain that the biggest opposition party the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will win the election," RBS Securities economist RuiXue Xu wrote in a research note.
       The market's focus thus has moved to the post-election political situations and its impact on the assets markets and the economy assuming the DPJ wins."
       The opposition has pledged to put the focus on households rather than companies, with cash allowances for child-raising, free high-school education,an increased minimum wage, petrol tax cuts and an end to highway tolls.
       HONG KONG 20,242.75 -213.57
       Share prices closed 1.04% lower yesterday on weaker blue-chip earnings and as they tracked falls in China on concerns over further tightening by Beijing, dealers said.
       The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished 213.57 points lower at 20,242.75.Turnover was HK$58.86 billion (US$7.59 billion).
       Shanghai shares weighed on Hong Kong sentiment after closing 0.71% lower following a statement from China's State Council on Wednesday that it will curb overcapacity in several industries,analysts said.
       I think corrective pressure is mounting due to a lack of positive catalysts in the Hong Kong market," Sun Hung Kai Financial strategist Castor Pang told Dow Jones Newswires.
       Also, investors are concerned Beijing will adopt further tightening measures,"he said.
       Retailer Esprit was the weakest blue chip, plummeting 15% to 50.90 after reporting a 26% decline in full-year net profit due to weak wholesale business.
       Hong Kong-listed Chinese proper ty firms also fell after China Vanke, the countr y's largest developer by market value, said Thursday it plans to raise 11.2 billion yuan (US$1.64 billion) through a secondary public offering of new shares to fund construction projects.
       Shimao Proper ties dropped 3.6% to 12.34, Sino-Ocean Land fell 3.9% to 6.92 and R&F Properties was down 5.5% at 13.30.
       Oil producer CNOOC fell 3.0% to 10.34 after posting Wednesday a 55.0% slump in its first-half net profit due to a sharp fall in crude prices.
       However, Wharf rose 6.5% to 35.90 on ratings upgrades following strong firsthalf results and the emergence of China property sales as another key earnings driver for the company.
       SYDNEY 4,458.10 -6.30
       Shares closed flat yesterday, with buoyant financial stocks countering bearish resources amid a surprise jump in business investment, dealers said.
       The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 eased 3.7 points or 0.08 percent to 4,450.8, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 6.3 points at 4,458.1.
       Turnover was 3.13 billion shares worth A$6.09 billion (US$5.04 billion) with 528 stocks up, 556 down and 316 flat.
       We've got a bit of weakness in the resources sector, which is offsetting the generally positive financials sector and a number of industrials today," said Macquarie Private Wealth adviser Helen Spencer.
       A surprise 3.3% on-quarter jump in business investment helped buoy the resources-heavy market, which was weighed down by weaker overnight commodity prices, said Spencer.
       (It) is certainly a positive tick for the economy," she said.
       SINGAPORE 2,642.23 +13.80
       Shares closed 0.53% higher yesterday,boosted by underlying expectations for an economic recovery, dealers said.
       The blue-chip Straits Times Index added 13.80 points to 2,642.23 on volume of 3.31 billion shares worth S$1.86 billion (US$1.28 billion). Analysts said the strength of the Singapore market is being underpinned by signs of an economic rebound.
       DBS Group Research said it now expects the city-state's gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by a narrower 3.0% this year, compared with its previous forecast for a shrinkage of 5.0%.
       It also expects GDP to grow 5.2% next year instead of 4.8% as earlier projected.
       Among the banks, DBS fell 12 cents to 12.88 dollars while rival United Overseas Bank climbed 14 cents to 17.02 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp added three cents to 8.12.
       KUALA LUMPUR 1,176.90 +4.34
       Share prices closed up 0.37% yesterday in thin volume, dealers said.
       The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 4.34 points to 1,176.90 with a volume of 585 million shares worth one billion ringgit (US$285.51 million).
       There were 292 gainers, 363 losers and 241 counters traded unchanged.
       The signals are rather mixed; so the stocks attracting greatest attention are speculative plays and lower liners, large funds are probably still watching out for a clearer market direction," a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.
       Decliners included state energy provider Tenaga which slipped 1.2% to 8.00 ringgit. Property group SunCity fell 2.9% to 3.30 ringgit.
       On the upside, infrastructure investment group MMC Corp rose 5.7% to 2.42 ringgit while communications solutions provider Time DotCom climbed 7.8% to 0.42 ringgit.
       SEOUL 1,599.33 -14.79
       Shares closed 0.92% lower yesterday on profit-taking as investors shrugged off positive US housing data, dealers said.
       The benchmark KOSPI ended down 14.79 points at 1,599.33. Volume was 420.8 million shares worth 6.14 trillion won (US$4.92 billion). Losers outpaced gainers 520 to 303.
       Analysts said positive US housing data failed to boost sentiment but investors saw stronger-than-expected US new home sales as a good sign.
       T here's no visible negative factor hurting sentiment. The only negative I can find is that stocks had risen sharply without any meaningful correction,"Kim Seong-Bong of Samsung Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.
       Samsung Electronics declined 1.3%to 767,000 won and Hyundai Motor fell 1.9% to 101,500 won.
       KB Financial Group lost 1.6% to 53,800 won, Shinhan Financial Group fell 2.2%to 41,500 won and Woori Finance Holdings shed 4.5% to 13,950 won.
       TAIPEI 6,690.75 -28.40
       Share prices closed 0.42% lower yesterday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid continued worries over the health of the local economy.
       The weighted index dropped 28.4 points to 6,690.75 on turnover of TA$78.63 billion (US$2.4 billion).
       Losers outnumbered gainers 1,361 to 834, while 228 stocks remained unchanged.
       But a total of 27 shares rose to their daily 7.0% limit, against 15 limit-down.
       The market opened low and stayed in negative terr itor y duri ng most of the trading session despite some bargainhunting in construction and assetrelated plays, analysts said.
       Investors were reluctant to build up portfolios due to a lack of positive leads,"said Allen Lin of Concord Securities.
       The reluctance also accounted for the continued decline in trading volume over recent weeks, he said, adding that if the trend continues, the market may test 6,100 points in September.
       WELLINGTON 3,076.42 -14.48
       New Zealand shares closed 0.47%lower yesterday following a weak lead from overseas markets, dealers said.
       The benchmark NZX-50 index dropped 14.48 points to 3,076.42 on tur nover worth NZ$107.1 million (US$72.7 million).
       There were 52 falls and 39 rises among the 120 stocks traded.
       Earnings results were mixed and investors continued to reward good news,said Stephen Wright of ASB Securities.
       Air New Zealand fell two cents to 1.23 dollars after revealing a 90% slump in annual net profit.
       The result was better than expected.Air New Zealand management has been in front of the curve on reducing capacity at a greater rate than demand is falling," said Wright.
       Retail investor Hellaby fell 10 cents to 1.27 dollars after announcing poor earnings results.
       JAKARTA 2,356.06 -24.02
       Shares ended 1.01% lower yesterday,weighed by a weak rupiah and falls across Asian markets, dealers said.
       The Jakarta Composite Index fell 24.02 points to 2,356.06 in moderate trade.
       Foreign selling in most commodity and bank stocks drove the main index lower," a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.
       Nickel miner Inco dropped 7.2% to 4,250 rupiah, coal miner Bumi Resources fell four percent to 2,975 on lower commodity prices, while Bank Danamon fell 3.1% to 4,675 on profit-taking.
       The rupiah ended weaker at 10,170 to the dollar compared to 10,085 at the last close.
       SHANGHAI 2,946.40 -21.20
       Shares closed down 0.71% yesterday as fund-raising plans by several large companies raised concerns about a share supply glut, dealers said.
       The Sh anghai Composite Index,which covers A and B shares, was down 21.20 points at 2,946.40 on turnover of 145.2 billion yuan (US$21.3 billion).
       Worr ies that pending stock sales would flood the market with shares outweighed bargain-hunting after the key index fell about 20% between August 4 and August 19, traders said.