year high of 880.95, driven by a second straight day of aggressive buying in energy stocks. JAKARTA: Indonesian shares gained 0.9 percent at a fresh record high 2,401.60, on inflows amid expectations that many companies would book strong first quarter earnings due to lower interest rates. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares closed 0.8 percent higher at a record high 1,392.18 in heavy volume. MANILA: Philippine shares fell after Fitch Ratings assessed the first-half fiscal performance as disappointing and the 2007 deficit target as unrealistic. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 31.55 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,706.24. SHANGHAI: Chinese shares dipped on profit-taking after sharp rises in the last two sessions. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.03 points to end 0.1 percent lower at 4,210.33. That followed a 7.7 percent rise over the past two sessions. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 3.17 points, edging up 0.3 percent to 1,184.62. SINGAPORE: Singapore's shares ended up on strong performance by offshore, shipping and banking stocks, but mixed performance among property stocks stymied further gains. The Straits Times Index closed up 29.8 points, or 0.8 percent, at 3,665.1. SYDNEY: Australian shares hit a record high, lifted by strong production reports from BHP Billiton and Newcrest Mining, following a similar bounce on Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 31.9 points, or 0.5 percent, at a record 6,422.3. TAIPEI: Taiwanese shares surged to hit a new seven-year high, spurred by capital inflows following official measures to encourage investment. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 122.49 points, or 1.3 percent, at 9,744.60 in robust volume. WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares ended modestly higher, tracking positive sentiment from overseas markets, which outweighed the negative effect of the high New Zealand dollar on export stocks. The benchmark NZX-50 ended up 15.12 points, or 0.4 percent, at 4,321.29 as non-export blue chip stocks led the market.
