Most Asian markets rallied Thursday, tracking Wall Street gains, with shares in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore all reaching records.
Hong Kong shares rose to a record high, buoyed by overnight gains on Wall Street, with heavyweights Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., China Mobile Ltd. and Citic Pacific leading the market's rise.
The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 57.35 points, or 0.27 percent, to 20,994.61, surpassing the record of 20,979.24 set on Monday.
However, Japanese stocks slipped after figures showed that the economy had slowed to a 2.4 percent pace in the first quarter, due mostly to a decline in capital investment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 30.40 points, or 0.17 percent, to 17,498.60 points.
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thai shares rose 0.4 percent at 724.37 in active trade on gains in banking and energy blue chips, supported by continued capital inflows and gains in most Asian markets.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares gained, spurred by buying in select bluechips. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index of 100 blue chips gained 0.5 percent to 1,359.37 points.
MANILA: Philippine shares advanced to a new 10-year high, tracking gains on Wall Street. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index was up 8.49 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,417.69, adding to Wednesday's 0.01 percent rise.
SEOUL: South Korean shares rose to a fresh record, as shipbuilders and construction companies rallied on rising overseas orders. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.98 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,615.58. It was the Kospi's fifth all-time high close in the past seven sessions.
SHANGHAI: Chinese stocks rose, buoyed by retail investor purchases of foreign-currency "B shares" and gains for the brokerage sector. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both Chinese-currency "A shares" and B shares, gained 1.6 percent to 4,048.29, just below its record close of 4,049.70 a week earlier.
SINGAPORE: Singapore's shares closed at a new high, following gains on Wall Street and Shanghai, although dealers are tipping an imminent correction in the absence of any domestic leads. The benchmark Straits Times index finished up 0.7 percent, or 24.34 points, at 3,525.51 -- its third closing record high this week.
TAIPEI: Taiwanese shares rose as investors were cheered by U.S. stock gains overnight. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 49.39 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 8,061.28.
SYDNEY: Australian shares closed at record highs, buoyed by strong gains in the mining and finance sectors following a strong lead from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 71.3 points to a record 6,365.9, beating Monday's record 6,345.1 close.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks hit a new high, tracking strong leads from Wall Street, with widely expected tax and savings measures in the government's 2007 annual budget having only a minor positive impact. The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 48.1 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,275.57, a new record.
With files from wire services
