Tokyo share prices fell back 1.1 per cent as investors locked away profits while weighing the possibility of the Bank of Japan ending its zero interest rate policy. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's key Nikkei-225 index lost 182.60 points to close at 15,820.11, reversing much of the previous day's 335.35-point rally.

Share prices opened higher following gains in New York but they were depressed by profit-taking in the absence of fresh leads and the unwinding of cross shareholdings by companies, brokers said. Banking issues tumbled following comments from Bank of Japan governor Masaru Hayami that the time was ripe for the 18-month-old monetary policy to end, brokers said. "Share prices would have gone higher if not for the governor's statement," said Hiroyuki Nakai, head of investment information at Nippon Global Securities.Hong Kong: Share prices fell 2.9 per cent on profit-taking in Financial and property stocks, with Wall Street's gains overnight having little impact, dealers said. They said the main focus was on Cable and Wireless HKT, whose shares will no longer be traded after Tuesday, following the merger with Pacific Century CyberWorks. Reports of a brokerage downgrade on HSBC further dampened sentiment on the heavyweight stock.

Dealers said the market would see support at around 17,000-17,200 points for the time being. Ben Kwong, analyst at KGI Asia, said the market was suffering a short-term lack of funds, adding "in absence of fresh capital, the upside is quite limited."

Singapore: Share prices closed 0.7 per cent lower in quiet trade ahead of the National Day holiday. The Straits Times Index dropped 14.30 points to 2,045.02, while the broader All-Singapore Equities Index rose 1.62 points to 551.20. Not even Wall Street's overnight gains could enliven the market which has been drifting steadily lower due to a lack of significant fresh leads, a dealer at a local brokerage said.

"There is nothing much happening in the market. A lot of trades are focused on OCBC (Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.), which has been downgraded by most stock brokerages," a research head with a foreign research house said. OCBC was the day's biggest loser, dropping a further 70 cents to 11.40 dollars, continuing a sell-off fuelled by the release of its first half earnings last week.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian shares ended 1.4 per cent higher on late institutional support but many investors kept away amid Anwar Ibrahim's guilty verdict in his sodomy trial. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index rose 11.26 points to finish at 825.52.

One institutional dealer said the market was rangebound in the morning with investors sidelined after a high court judge pronounced Anwar guilty of sodomy and jailed the ex-deputy premier for nine years. The sentence was to be added to the six year term he is currently serving for corruption. "The volum is very thin. Very rarely do we see (jail) sentences running consecutively," he said.

Seoul: South Korean share prices fell another 1.4 per cent on heavy institutional selling, with sentiment undermined by further delays in announcing the Hyundai group's restructuring plan. The composite index closed down 9.51 points at 666.08. SK Securities analyst Kang Hyun-Chul said the market will likely remain bearish this week amid weak demand and ongoing concerns about Hyundai. "A significant rebound is unlikely for some time, until Hyundai resolves the situation," he said.

Bangkok: Thai share prices soared 3.7 per cent amid heavy speculative buying in property, banking and Finance stocks. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index gained 11.43 points to close at 318.15, and the SET 50 index rose 0.88 to 22.45. The speculative buying in Finance, banking and property was the result of both local and foreign investors looking for bargains in the undervalued Thai stock exchange, said ABN AMRO Asia Securities domestic marketing vice President Paibool Rachniyom. "In the year to date, Financial share prices have fallen by 70 percent. Although they saw heavy gains today, their prices are still cheap," he said.