Asia Roundup: Mixed amid US debt row

HONG KONG: Asian stocks were mixed while the dollar hit new lows yesterday as the deadlocked talks aimed at averting a debt default in the US continued to weigh on sentiment.

Despite expectations that a deficit-cutting deal will be made between the White House, Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers have yet to agree to a plan, with the date on which the government runs out of cash fast approaching.

Tokyo slipped 0.50 per cent, or 50.53 points, to 10,047.19 as yen hit new four-week highs, which cancelled out gains from another set of strong earnings reports.

Sydney fell 0.78 per cent, or 35.9 points, to 4,537.4 . But Seoul closed 0.26 per cent, or 5.61 points, higher at 2,174.31 while Shanghai was up 0.76 per cent, or 20.47 points, to 2,723.50.

The losses followed falls on Wall Street, where the Dow dropped 0.73 per cent, the S&P 500 shed 0.41 per cent and the Nasdaq was 0.10 percent lower.

Politicians from both sides clashed Tuesday but were unable to break an impasse that could see the world's richest nation unable to repay its debts, with a potentially devastating effect on the global economy.

But analysts said most dealers see the face-off as political posturing ahead of next year's presidential election, and expect the debt ceiling to be raised in time to avoid a default.

In other markets:
* Taipei closed 0.26 per cent, or 23.25 points, higher at 8,817.49. China Steel was 1.52 per cent higher at T$30.1 while Formosa Plastics fell 3.15 per cent to T$107.5.

* Manila ended 0.38 per cent, or 17.02 points, higher at 4,482.89. SM Investments fell 0.4 per cent to 536 pesos and property developer Megaworld closed up 4.2 per cent at 2.23 pesos.

* Wellington dipped 0.12 per cent, or 4.27 points, to 3,412.35. NZ Oil & Gas fell 4.3 per cent to NZ$0.67 and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare dropped 2 per cent to NZ$2.50.

* Jakarta rose 1.00 per cent, or 41.34 points, to 4,174.11. Bank Negara Indonesia jumped 7.2 per cent to 4,475 rupiah, while Bank Mandiri rose 2.6 per cent to 8,050 rupiah.

* Bangkok rose 0.81 per cent, or 9.08 points, to 1,130.71. Banpu gained 4.00 baht to 748.00, while PTT gained 3 baht to 351.00.

* Mumbai fell 0.46 per cent, or 85.7 points, to 18,432.25. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd fell 4.49 per cent to 1,823 rupees, while Reliance Infrastructure fell 2.1 per cent to 562.5 rupees. - AFP