HONG KONG, May 11, 2009 (AFP) - Markets in Asia were mixed Monday as investor confidence for the global economic outlook was weighed down by profit-taking following a strong rally last week.

Hong Kong led the falls, dropping 1.74 percent, while Sydney was 0.40 percent off, Shanghai 1.75 percent down and Singapore more than three percent lower.

However, Tokyo added 0.20 percent, Seoul 0.21 percent and Taipei one percent.

But with massive regional gains last week many traders decided to sell up.

JAPAN: Up 0.20 percent. The Nikkei-225 rose 19.15 points to 9,451.98, a six-month high.

The index extended a winning streak to a fifth straight session as hopes grew that the global recession is abating.

But Nikko Cordial senior strategist Tsuyoshi Kawata told Dow Jones Newswires: "The market recently went a little too far in factoring in hopes for an economic recovery.

"Shares now look overvalued now that actual earnings are out," he added, pointing to Toyota's gloomy financial forecasts.

Toyota shares fell 4.8 percent to 3,790 yen.

Mizuho Financial climbed 5.7 percent to 260 yen.

Toshiba rose 7.2 percent to 387 yen as some analysts described the group's forecast for a 50 billion yen loss this year as overly cautious.

HONG KONG: Down 1.74 percent. The Hang Seng Index closed down 301.92 points at 17,087.95.

The drop ended a seven-session upward surge, dealers said.

Dealers said they expected the blue-chip index to continue to consolidate in the near term after the market's 19.5-percent advance in the previous seven sessions.

Financial companies led Monday's falls on profit-taking.

China Construction Bank dropped 6.7 percent to 4.90 dollars. The lender had
gained 10.5 percent in the previous two sessions.

Bucking the downtrend, China Citic Bank rose 3.7 percent to 4.16 dollars.

SYDNEY: Down 0.40 percent. The S&P/ASX200 ended 15.7 points lower at 3,926 after hitting a high of 3,960.

The market fell after profit-takers moved in following a strong start to the session, dealers said.

BHP Billiton was down three cents at 35.28 dollars and Rio Tinto fell 2.32 dollars to 69.28.

Commonwealth Bank declined six cents to 36.68 dollars and ANZ closed down 27 cents at 16.22.

Oil and gas producer Santos was in a trading halt at 17.09 after announcing it was raising as much as three billion dollars in a share offering, as it pays down debt and raises funds for a key liquefied natural gas project.

Telstra ended down five cents at 3.18.

SHANGHAI: Down 1.75 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A
and B shares, was down 45.90 points at 2,579.75.

Investors were collecting profits on small and medium-sized companies amid concerns over future corporate earnings, dealers said.

Property developer Financial Street Holding dropped 7.1 percent to 10.61 yuan after rising 13.7 percent since the beginning of this month.

Automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile fell 5.8 percent to 8.48 yuan after gaining 18.7 percent in the same period.

China Baoan Group, an import-export company and property manager, fell 7.8 percent to 9.98 yuan.

China Southern Airlines was down 4.5 percent to 5.27 yuan. Air China slipped 5.2 percent to 6.54 yuan.

Haitong Securities rose 1.5 percent to 13.24 yuan.

SEOUL: Up 0.21 percent. The KOSPI ended 3.03 points higher at 1,415.16.The index was led by utilities and banks as the won gained strength.

Korea Electric Power Corp rose 3.8 percent to 30,200 won and Korea Gas Corp climbed 3.4 percent to 49,750.

Hana Financial Group climbed 4.9 percent to 27,800 won and KB Financial Holdings gained 0.9 percent to 45,950.

Samsung Electronics lost 1.1 percent to 563,000 won.

The won finished at 1,237.9 to the dollar, up 9.1 won from Friday's close, as foreign investors sold the greenback to buy shares.

SINGAPORE: Down 3.22 percent. The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) shed 72.11 points to 2,166.10.

Monday's decline underlined investor concerns that the recent stock market rally could not be sustained because the global economy was still in a slump.

Among banking shares, DBS fell 66 cents to 11.24 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropped 41 cents to 6.79.

Singapore Airlines fell 34 cents to 12.20 and Singapore Telecommunications closed 14 cents lower at 2.71.

KUALA LUMPUR: Down 0.12 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 1.28 points to close at 1,025.50.

"Regional markets succumbed to selling pressure as investors locked-in profits in the absence of fresh drivers. After seven weeks of gains on the local bourse, valuations are looking stretched," a dealer said.

Telekom Malaysia lost 0.52 percent to 3.84 ringgit, Tenaga shed 1.97 percent to 7.45 and Malayan Banking fell 2.35 percent to 4.98.

BANGKOK: Up 1.41 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand gained 7.46 points to close at 535.18.

The index was lifted by US markets amid hopes for a recovery in the world economy, dealers said.

Thailand's top energy firm PTT Plc rose 8.00 to 220 baht, while subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production was unchanged at 117.00 baht.

Coal producer Banpu jumped 11.00 to close at 311.00.

Bangkok Bank gained 0.75 to 90.75.

MUMBAI: Down 1.63 percent. The 30-share Sensex fell 193.44 points to 11,682.99.

Political uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment ahead of results for the country's general election next weekend, dealers said.