KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian share prices ended 0.3 per cent higher on Thursday as local funds bought into selected blue-chips, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 2.81 points to close at 1,070.46.

Turnover was modest at 391.42 million shares valued at 809.35 million ringgit (S$338.2 million) while gainers lead decliners 290 to 224.

Dealers said gains in plantations, consumer stocks and selected heavyweights provided some buoyancy to benchmark.

'Local funds accumulated some blue chips and index linked issues but there was very little commitment from retail players. Trade is likely to be relatively quiet tomorrow ahead of the budget announcement,? a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.

Plantation company IOI Corp gained 2.1 percent at 4.96, top bank Maybank added 1.4 per cent at 7.40 and gaming firm Berjaya Sports Toto gained 3.6 per cent at 4.60.

Genting fell 3.6 per cent at 5.30 ringgit, power giant lost 0.64 per cent at 7.75 while Telekom Malaysia added 1.14 per cent at 3.54.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed down 2.3 per cent on Thursday, driven by a dire performance by the Chinese telecoms sector and retailer Esprit, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index fell 492.43 points to 20,972.29. Turnover was HK$66.73 billion.

Mainland telecoms firm China Mobile led the falls, tumbling 6.3 per cent, after strong gains on Wednesday. The firm's drop triggered a heavy sell-off across the telecoms sector.

Clothing retailer Esprit fell 17.9 per cent after weaker-than-expected results and broker downgrades on worries over a global economic slowdown.

SHANGHAI
China's main stock index rose on Thursday, led by heavily weighted financial shares, but a slight majority of stocks fell and trade remained sluggish.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.34 per cent at 2,350.143 points, off the day's high of 2,374.246. Losing Shanghai shares outnumbered gainers by 457 to 428.

Turnover in Shanghai A shares shrank to 28.5 billion yuan (S$5.9 billion) from 32.4 billion yuan on Wednesday.

The top listed securities firm, CITIC Securities , rose 3.76 per cent to 19.59 yuan, still buoyed by hopes that regulators would take further steps to revive the stock market, conceivably including the launch of stock index futures trade.

But oil giant PetroChina fell 0.69 per cent to 12.97 yuan after saying its net profit in the second quarter dropped 38 percent under international accounting standards, slightly underperforming analysts' expectations.

TOKYO
Japanese share prices closed mixed on Thursday as many investors stayed on the sidelines out of caution ahead of key domestic economic data, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 15.29 points or 0.12 per cent to close at 12,768.25.

But the broader Topix index of all first-section slipped 4.16 points or 0.34 per cent to 1,219.53. -- AFP, BERNAMA