Asian markets lower as profit-taking sets in

Hong Kong led the falls, dropping one percent, while Tokyo shed 0.68 percent and Sydney 0.19 percent.

There was also selling pressure in Seoul, which fell 1.39 percent.

Markets moved lower after picking up over the past four sessions, boosted by comments from the G20 that stimulus measures would be kept in place to help the world economy in its recovery from the financial crisis.

Australia revealed that unemployment rose slightly, but mainly due to the fact that more people had returned to the jobseekers market.

TOKYO: Down 0.68 percent. The Nikkei-225 fell 67.19 points to 9,804.49. Investors were concerned about the possibility of more big share offerings by companies that could dilute the value of existing stocks, dealers said.

HONG KONG: Down 1.01 percent. The Hang Seng Index lost 229.64 points to 22,397.57.

SYDNEY: Down 0.19 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 gave up 9.1 points to 4,747.9. “The market was effectively treading water today,” said CMC markets analyst David Taylor.

SHANGHAI: Flat. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, finished down 2.25 points, or 0.07 percent, at 3,172.95. Financial and real estate companies fell on concerns that declining bank lending will crimp their earnings, dealers said.

All 28 companies on the new ChiNext board rose.

SEOUL: Down 1.39 percent. The KOSPI fell 22.09 points to 1,572.73. “Today's fall was caused mainly by a one-off event as traders rushed to cover long positions on options expiry day,” Jun Gyun of Samsung Securities said.

SINGAPORE: Down 0.52 percent. The Straits Times Index closed down 14.19 points to 2,726.24.

BANGKOK: Down 2.95 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand fell 21.18 points to 696.72.

KUALA LUMPUR: Up 0.13 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 1.60 points to 1,271.75.

JAKARTA: Up 0.68 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 16.40 points to 2,420.28.

MANILA: Up 0.88 percent. The index added 26.78 points to 3,073.92.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.33 percent. The NZX-50 rose 10.55 points to 3,172.09. Despite gains in overseas markets, local investors remained cautious, dealers said.

MUMBAI: Down 0.91 percent. The 30-share Sensex index fell 153.57 points to 16,696.03.

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