Share prices in Tokyo fell 0.7 per cent as investors dumped issues with credit risks following the collapse of Kyoei Life Insurance Co. in Japan's biggest postwar corporate failure. The market was also waiting for releases of interim earnings reports from major Japanese and US firms later in the week, with investors expecting stronger performances from hi-tech companies, brokers said. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 average lost 100.77 points to close at 15,097.96.

"Kyoei's failure on Friday came back to haunt the market," said Cosmo Securities product manager Hiroshi Sato. "Issues with credit risks were actively sold." The most notable among such issues were Internet investors, Hikari Tsushin Inc. and Softbank Corp., Sato said. Banks also lost ground.

Hong Kong: Share prices rose 0.4 per cent on follow-up buying amid a lack of fresh incentives. Dealers said the market was led higher led by Financial stocks but with the gains capped by weakness in telecoms companies. The key Hang Seng index closed up 57.83 points at 15,102.36 on turnover of 6.73 billion Hong Kong dollars (863 million US).

"I think buyers will not be very aggressive as local stocks lack direction, except to follow leads from the US market," said Frederick Tsang, director at China Everbright Research. He said the index moved within a narrow range in low turnover, reflecting investors' caution.

Singapore: Shares closed 0.5 per cent lower in mixed trading with profit-taking in blue chip old economy stocks offsetting gains in technology stocks. The Straits Times Index lost 9.18 points to 1,914.49, while the broader All-Singapore Equities index was down 3.10 points at 507.16.

"Last week's buying was overdone," a dealer with a regional brokerage said. "If not for the gains in the technology stocks, the market would have fallen significantly." A dealer with a foreign brokerage said broad market sentiment "remained weak as reflected by the selling in old economy stocks. There is continuing speculative buying interest in NatSteel Electronics and other technology stocks."

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian shares ended 0.6 per cent higher on buying of selected blue chips and other stocks with trading leads. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index finished up 4.51 points at 783.50. Dealers said buying by local institutional funds and speculative investors ahead of Friday's budget is expected to maintain the market's upward momentum.

"There was some light profit-taking in the morning but the market recovered in the afternoon," an institutional dealer with a local brokerage said. The dealer said local institutions and speculative investors were still active in the market ahead of Friday's budget, despite volume having thinned from last week.

Seoul: South Korean share prices fell 3.2 per cent led by foreign and institutional investor selling of Samsung Electronics Co. The Korea Stock Exchange index closed down 17.60 points at 528.37. Volume stood at 259 million shares worth 1.9 trillion won (1.68 billion dollars).

Samsung Electronics' profit results for the year's third quarter were pretty much "in line with the eneral market expectations", but were not enough to boost the stock, Hana Securities analyst Cho Yong-Hyun said. Samsung Electronics said that its net profit surged 139 per cent year-on-year to 4.3 billion dollars in the first nine months of the current year.

Taipei: Taiwan share prices closed 1.6 per cent higher on government-led buying of technology shares. The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index rose 81.21 points to 5,680.95, on turnover of 87.42 billion Taiwan dollars (2.72 billion US).

"Bargain-hunting led by the government has successfully lifted sentiment," said Alex Yeh, analyst at President Securities. It was the third consecutive session in which the market ended in the positive territory. "Market confidence is slowly recovering as the bourse stabilises," he added.

Jakarta: Indonesian share prices closed 0.7 per cent lower in thin trade following signs of government weakness in upholding law in the country. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed down 2.880 points at 417.451 on volume of 416.2 million shares valued at 241.29 billion rupiah (26.94 million dollars).

They said investors remained sidelined on weak sentiment as shares came under selling pressure, except for Telkom and Indosat which were up in early trade on arbitrage-linked activity. President Abdurrahman Wahid's call last week to delay the prosecution of three business tycoons - who are on the list of debtors in the Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency (IBRA) - was weighing on market sentiment, Haryono added. Wahid identified the three debtors as Marimutu Sinivasan of Texmaco Group, Prajogo Pangestu of Barito Pacific and Sjamsul Nursalim of Gajah Tunggal Group.