The firmer dollar helped depress prices for dollar-quoted commodities such as gold and oil, but was not able to hold back the surging price of rice, an Asian staple at risk of running low and fuelling inflation.

The early Chinese boost came from a two-thirds cut in share trading tax, seen as a government attempt to halt a sharp slide on the Shanghai Composite Index which had plummeted more than 50 per cent since last October.

The boon for short-term traders boosted the index by 9.3 per cent by 0650 GMT, but some warned of celebrating too early.

'Today's market is full of pent-up exuberance. But eventually it?s fundamentals, not government policies, that decide share prices,' said Chen Ge, manager at Fullgoal Fund Management.

'So before we see signs of an improving economy, I don't think the rally will become another bull run. Further sharp rises will be capped by the growing willingness of institutional shareholders to take profits.'

KUALA LUMPUR
Share prices on Bursa Malaysia closed firmer on Thursday with steady buying interest seen in select blue chips and lower liners, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rose 4.92 points or 0.38 per cent to close at 1,293.08 after opening 1.22 points higher at 1,289.38.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong stocks climbed 1.6 per cent on Thursday with hectic buying for H shares encouraged by strong gains in Shanghai, which staged its largest single day gain in nearly seven years after Beijing cut the trading tax.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose for the fourth consecutive day to close up 391.54 points at 25,680.78, but was off an intra-day high 25,861.68 on profit-taking in late trade.

The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed companies, or H shares, surged 4.2 per cent to finish at 14,416.48 after the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 9.3 per cent.

SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices surged to close up 9.29 per cent on Thursday after the government cut the stamp duty on stock market transactions to boost share prices, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed up 304.70 points at 3,583.03 on turnover of 189.6 billion yuan (S$36.7 billion).

The Shanghai A-share Index was up 319.76 points or 9.30 per cent to 3,759.61 on turnover of 188.5 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen A-share Index rose 87.98 points or 8.74 per cent to 1,094.48 on turnover of 72.5 billion yuan.

TOKYO
Japan's benchmark Nikkei fell 0.3 per cent on Thursday, dragged lower by steel shares after JFE Holdings posted a 2.1 drop in annual profit and said it was not yet able to issue forecasts for the year to March 2009.

Nippon Oil Corp and other oil-related shares slid after oil slipped, though shipping firms powered higher after the Baltic Exchange's dry freight index, an indicator of seaborne trade for dry commodities, climbed 3.7 per cent on Wednesday.

The Nikkei shed 38.29 points to 13,540.87 in lacklustre trade, with many investors sidelined ahead of a flood of earnings results. The broader Topix was down 0.5 per cent at 1,307.57. -- AFP, REUTERS