Tokyo, the best performing big market this year, eased slightly, but Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Shanghai and Auckland all ended in positive territory.

Dealers said another record-high close overnight on Wall Street and ample liquidity amid continuing inflows of foreign funds prolonged a bull run sparked by signs that crisis-hit regional economies were bottoming out. But some dealers cautioned that markets were being overbought and concerns still prevailed over economic fundamentals.

Hong Kong share prices rose 1.1 per cent to their highest point this year on late overseas buying that reversed earlylosses, dealers said. "The market has been driven up by overseas buying, particularly from Japanese investors," said Michael Ng, deputy managing director at Sassoon Securities.He said market sentiment was positive ahead of the resumption of government land auctions next week that would end a freeze imposed last year to boost the property market, adding prospects of another interest rate cut also helped.

The key Hang Seng index gained 128.10 points to close at 11,962.23 on a turnover of 5.907 billion Hong Kong dollars ($ 763 million).

Tokyo: Share prices in Tokyo closed 0.2 per cent lower, pressured by profit taking in the absence of fresh buying incentives, brokers said. The Nikkei 225 index closed down 37.60 points at 16,727.08.

"Investors were cautious about high prices" after recent gains, said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity dealing chief at New Japan Securities Co Ltd. "Selling mingled with buying ... but after all investors may be a bit tired of buying," Segawa said.

The dealer also said "moves in NewYork (shares) is part of concern here." "Monday's Compaq shock is persisting," he said of concerns sparked by warnings that first-quarter earnings of Compaq, the world's second largest computer firm, would be sharply below market expectations.

Profit taking hit electronics and high-technology issues in Tokyo, mirroring moves on Wall Street, brokers said. The Topix of all issues in the first section on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 5.42 points to 1,337.93.

Singapore: Singapore stock prices ended 0.2 per cent higher on big turnover led by property stocks amid expectations that banks will cut interest rates, dealers said. The benchmark Straits Times Index was up 3.40 points to 1,706.13 while the broader All-Singapore Index rose 0.81 of a point to 459.17.

The inter-bank rate, the level at which banks lend each other, slumped to 1.37 per cent on Thursday, fueling expectations of a prime rate cut, dealers said. "Property stocks did well on hopes that banks will cut prime rates," a dealer with a localbrokerage said. "We see foreign interest rising for blue chips," he said .

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's key share index closed 0.7 per cent higher as protests resumed following the six-year jail sentence on former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 3.79 points to finish at 581.90.

An institutional dealer with a local brokerage said local funds were keeping prices marginally higher but the broader market remained cautious amid sporadic clashes between Anwar supporters and police.

"There is almost a concerted effort to keep the index up," she said. "But there was a trickle of foreign buying, some Japanese funds were seen in the market."

Jakarta: Indonesian share prices closed 2.7 per cent higher on foreign buying amid speculation that the government and some companies may have helped prop up the market, dealers said. PT Asjaya Indosurya Securities associate director Henry Surya says there was some speculation of government support for themarket ahead of the June elections. "I don't know whether it's pure foreign buying or just people using some brokerages to cook stocks," Surya said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 11.923 points at 447.479. Surya said the buying continued in second-liners as well as the usual blue chips. "Probably tomorrow's the last day of the rally. Tomorrow, maybe in the morning, it will continue going up then it should decline," Surya said. He added that the market was starting to look expensive at the current levels.