Dealers said there was also increasing concern over the United States economy and whether Wall Street can sustain its record run which resulted in another all-time best finish overnight.

Hong Kong and Shanghai were among the losers on the day however the focus was firmly on Industrial and Commercial Bank of China which began trading on both exchanges after holding the world’s biggest ever public offer.

Elsewhere Tokyo was down 0.18 percent, Sydney fell 0.58 percent, Seoul was 0.33 percent lower and Taipei was flat.

Wellington bucked the trend and rose 0.38 percent after its central bank decided earlier in the week to keep interest rates on hold. Manila gained 0.72 percent and continued trading at its highest levels in more than nine years.

Jakarta was closed for a public holiday.

TOKYO: Share prices closed down 0.85 percent as investors opted to pocket gains despite the fresh highs posted overnight on Wall Street.

Dealers said investors turned cautious ahead of US third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures and another slew of companies results later Friday.

The Nikkei-225 index fell 142.53 points to 16,669.07. Volume rose slightly to 1.79 billion shares from 1.78 billion Thursday.

SEOUL: Share prices closed 0.33 percent lower as Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor tumbled on worries over their memory chip business outlook.

Dealers said the fall was sparked by Deutsche Bank downgrading its rating on Hynix to “hold’ from “buy’ after Hynix issued solid third-quarter results.

The brokerage warned that chip prices had peaked and investment in production lines might lead to a supply glut in early 2007.

The KOSPI closed down 4.56 points at 1,369.09. Volume was 198 million shares worth 2.9 trillion won (3.1 billion dollars).

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.31 percent lower as investors locked in profits after the benchmark index hit an all-time high in the morning session.

Dealers said Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest lender, managed to sustain its gains after staging a strong debut in heavy trade.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 56.19 points at 18,297.55. Turnover was heavy at 76 billion Hong Kong dollars (9.7 billion US).

TAIPEI: Share prices closed little changed in moderate trade as investors locked in early gains driven by the overnight strength in US equities, especially technology bellwethers on the Nasdaq.

Local technology heavyweights led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), Acer, Asustek Computer and Hon Hai Precision were in the spotlight on foreign investor buying.

The weighted index was up 5.90 points at 7,086.74 on turnover of 85.86 billion dollars (2.59 billion US).

SHANGHAI: Share prices closed 0.18 percent lower as investors locked in gains in the wake of a disappointing debut by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

Dealers said the market had been expecting a rise of 10-20 percent for ICBC but in the event, smaller investors took quick profits on the stock and there was not enough institutional support to pick up the slack.

The Shanghai A-share Index lost 3.51 points to 1,898.64 on turnover of 34.27 billion yuan (4.34 billion dollars) and the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 5.59 points or 1.20 percent at 458.53 on turnover of 12.58 billion yuan.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares, closed down 3.47 points or 0.19 percent at 1,807.18 on turnover of 34.49 billion yuan.

SYDNEY: Share prices closed 0.58 percent lower on profit-taking, with an overnight fall in base metal and oil prices putting pressure on resource and energy stocks.

Dealers said Wall Street’s fourth consecutive record high failed to boost sentiment and the country’s worsening drought, now believed to be cutting 0.7 percentage points from growth, devastated the rural-based stocks.

The SP/ASX 200 lost 31.2 points to 5,358.5 while. Turnover was 1.56 billion shares worth a heavy 8.11 billion dollars (6.2 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.43 percent lower on profit taking after a record-breaking run.

Dealers said the market was ripe for profit taking after a series of record-busting runs since last week.

The Straits Times Index fell 11.71 points to 2,729.98 on volume of 1.86 billion shares worth 1.52 billion Singapore dollars (974 million US).

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed higher with local funds buying up blue chips amid a positive outlook for the short to medium term.

Dealers said the gains were supported by record high closes in regional markets and on Wall Street.

The composite index closed up 7.27 points at 989.90. Volume remained heavy at 906.53 million shares worth 1.08 billion ringgit (294.3 million dollars).

BANGKOK: Share prices closed 0.37 percent lower in line with regional markets and pressure in the energy sector from rising oil prices.

Dealers said there was also continued profit-taking amid negative effects in some sectors from the strength of the Thai baht.

The composite index fell 2.72 points to 725.77 on turnover of 2.7 billion shares worth 12.2 billion baht (331 million dollars).

JAKARTA: Closed.

MANILA: Share prices closed 0.72 percent higher, lifted by optimism that corporate earnings will remain strong as the economy sustains its growth over the year.

Dealers said positive sentiment spilled into the currency market, with the Philippine peso jumping to its strongest level in nearly five years in early trading.

The composite index added 19.43 points to 2,702.37. Turnover totalled 2.67 billion shares worth 3.72 billion pesos (74.78 million dollars).

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.38 percent higher, extending Thursday’s sharp gains after the central bank defied expectations and left interest rates unchanged.

The NZSX-50 index added 14.27 points at 3,719.70 on turnover worth 112.9 million New Zealand dollars (74.4 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices rose 1.64 percent on sustained foreign fund buying in index heavyweights as Indian companies continued to show strong quarterly earnings growth.

Dealers said sentiment improved in index heavyweight Reliance Industries on reports that operations at the fire-hit refinery had returned to normal.

A major fire broke out Wednesday at the world’s third largest oil refinery located in western India, leading to a shutdown of one of its 40 units andkilling one worker.

The 30-share benchmark Sensex index rose 208.4 points to 12,906.81.

Reliance rose four percent or 47.6 percent to 1,222.8 rupees.