OIL prices held near record highs on Tuesday after storming past $120 a barrel, pushing up gold prices and stalling a recovery in Asian stocks.

KUALA LUMPUR
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) rose 1.33 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 1,275.94 at midday.

HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed firmer on Tuesday, up 0.3 per cent, as blue chips Hutchison Whampoa, CNOOC and China Mobile helped overcome the fallout from a weak Wall Street, dealers said.

The Hang Seng index closed up 78.18 points at 26,262.13, off a low of 26,072.62 and a high of 26,314.99. Turnover was low at 69.74 billion Hong Kong dollars (S$12.15 billion).

SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed 0.73 per cent lower Tuesday, snapping a run of gains after profit-taking hit airline stocks and uncertainty over future monetary policy affected financials, dealers said.

They said China's top three airlines - Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines - were hit hard by profit-taking after all three rose by the 10 per cent daily limit on Monday.

However, a rebound in PetroChina, the biggest index component, prevented the key index from falling further.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, closed down 27.51 points at 3,733.50 on turnover of 148.3 billion yuan (S$201 billion).

The Shanghai A-share Index was down 28.75 points or 0.73 per cent to 3,917.70 on turnover of 147.9 billion yuan. The Shenzhen A-share Index lost 7.71 points or 0.65 per cent to 1,179.12 on turnover of 61.50 billion yuan.

TOKYO
The Japanese market is closed on Tuesday for a public holiday. Trading will resume on Wednesday.