Asian Shares Close Mostly Lower Led By China Despite Japan's Gains

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Shares in Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Thursday, as Japan's rally failed to offset the slump registered by the shares in China.

On Thursday, stock markets in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore were closed for the Christmas holiday.

Oil futures was trading down and below $36-a-barrel mark as crude-futures barrel for February delivery moved down in electronic trading in the previous session..

On Wednesday, the contract continued the fall and dropped by $3.63, or 9.3 percent to close at $35.35 a barrel in overnight trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid lower gasoline demand in the country and higher inventories.

On Dec. 19, oil prices reached $32.40 a barrel, which was the lowest level hit by crude rates since February 2004. Crude has dropped by 76 percent through yesterday from its peak level at $147.27 on July 11.

In currency trading, the yen strengthened and changed hands at 90.30 yen against U.S. dollar in Asia on Thursday, after it closed at 90.59 late Wednesday in New York.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average finished higher by 82.40 points or 0.97 percent at 8,599.50 points led by automakers, while the broader Topix index closed 1.1 percent higher at 836.02 points.

Among automakers, shares of Honda Motor Co. moved higher by as much as 3.6 percent and Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's largest car maker, advanced by 2.3 percent.

In other sectors, shares of Panasonic Corp. moved up by 3.8 percent, Mitsui O.S.K., which is the country's second-largest shipping company, gained by 5.4 percent in Tokyo trading.

In China, the Shanghai Composite index also finished higher by 0.6 percent at 1852.42 points on Thursday. China Southern Airlines Co. dropped by 3.7 percent after the suspension of China Eastern shares.

Elsewhere, Taiwan's Taiex index also finished down by 0.2 percent at 4,413.45 points. Russia's Micex Index dropped by 1.4 percent to 636.08 points in late afternoon. in Moscow, after slipping down by 2.4 percent on Wednesday.