KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian share prices closed down 0.3 per cent Monday, following a decline on Wall Street last week and concerns over the country's political stability, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index dropped 3.97 points to 1,186.57.

SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed down 0.45 per cent on Monday in thin trading, as rising oil prices continued to stoke fears of falling corporate profits and higher inflation, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 12.33 points at 2,736.10 on turnover of 40.6 billion yuan (S$8.05 billion).

The Shanghai A-share Index lost 13.01 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 2,869.94 on turnover of 40.4 billion yuan, while the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 3.26 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 830.03 on turnover of 20.5 billion yuan.

Some 521.7 million shares exchanged hands. Losers beat gainers 272 to 125.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed higher on Monday, up 0.27 per cent, as bargain-hunting by investors overcame a poor performance by banking giant HSBC, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 59.66 points at 22,102.01. Turnover was light at 53.06 billion Hong Kong dollars (S$9.24 billion).

The benchmark index moved into positive territory in late trade as fund managers hunted for bargains to tidy up their portfolios on the last day of trading in the second quarter, dealers added.

HSBC fell 0.82 per cent after the ratings agency Moody's downgraded its US operation, which has been hard hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Property stocks were also sharply lower with Cheung Kong falling 2.14 per cent.

TOKYO
Japan's Nikkei stock average dipped 0.5 per cent on Monday to book its worst first half since 1995, though it gained about 8 per cent this quarter, recovering about half of what it lost since a year-low hit in mid-March.

Retailers weighed on the market, with Takashimaya down 1.3 per cent after the department store operator's first-quarter operating profit fell 8 per cent and it cut its annual sales outlook.

The Nikkei average shed 62.98 points to 13,481.38, falling for a eighth straight day, the longest losing streak since last November. The broader Topix edged down 0.04 per cent to 1,320.10. -- REUTERS, AFP