The Tokyo Stock Exchange's key Nikkei-225 index climbed 141.85 points to finish at 16,117.50. "Some hi-tech issues such as TDK led the market to the 16,000 point level today," said Kankaku Securities Co. Ltd. broker Masatoshi Sato. Major electronics parts maker TDK Corp., which announced a 9.0 per cent year-on-year gain in group net profit in the April-June quarter, jumped 990 yen, or 7.3 per cent, to end at 14,650 yen.

But few investors took part in trading in the afternoon session as Bank of Japan chiefs met to decide whether to scrap the policy of driving the uncollateralised overnight call rate to zero, brokers said. "Investors were accepting and digesting a rate hike. But many of them opted to wait and see," said Hiroichi Nishi, head of the products group at Nikko Securities.

Hong Kong: Share prices fell 0.7 per cent due to profit-taking in thin trade dominated by Pacific Century CyberWorks. Investors preferred to remain sidelined before the US July producer price index data - which will be closely looked at in terms of future interest rate movements - due later Friday.

The key Hang Seng index lost 118.79 points to close at 17,214.42, off a high of 17,363.61, on turnover of 9.49 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.2 billion). Sunny Chan, Assistant Vice-President of KGI Asia, said "the market has seen directionless trading and shrinking turnover" in line with overseas markets.

Singapore: Singapore share prices closed 0.8 per cent higher passing through the 2,101 barrier led by a handful of selected stocks including Singapore Press Holdings and JIT Holdings. The key Straits Times Index rose 16.67 points to 2101.00 while the broader All-Singapore Equities Index closed 2.75 points up at 559.19.

Although the market was dominated by retail investors focusing on thirdline stocks, a dealer at a foreign brokerage said mild follow-up buying in core stocks kept the market in positive territory. "There's still some foreign buying going on ... but only in a very few blue chips," he said.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian shares ended 0.8 per cent lower as investors took to the sidelines before the weekend and due to a lack of fresh leads. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index fell 6.09 points to finish at 802.53. "The market is a non-event," said an analyst at a local brokerage.He said the market was likely to drift sideways with intermittent attempts to move up, but any gains would probably be capped by profit-taking.

Seoul: South Korean share prices fell 1.0 per cent on program selling triggered by weak futures. The composite index closed down 7.07 points at 722.21, off a low of 708.25. Good Morning Securities analyst Hyun Jong-Won said the market was likely to see another week of volatility ahead of the announcement of the Hyundai restructuring plan."The market is expected to move in a range of 700-760 points," he said.

Manila: Philippine share pices closed 0.4 per cent higher as bargain-hunting continued into a third day. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 5.62 points to close at 1,474.86.

Spencer Yap of BPI Securities Corp. said the upturn was "more of bargain hunting," adding that this was "follow-through buying" after the rise in the market on the two previous trading days.

Taipei:Taiwan share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower as investors continued to take profits after sharp gains earlier in the week. The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index fell 50.04 points to 7,974.65, on turnover of 62.28 billion Taiwan dollars ($2.01 billion).

Bangkok:The Thai stock market rose 2.3 per cent on speculative buying in communication and finance stocks, as buyers discounted the previous day's key corruption verdict against a ranking former minister. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index gained 7.18 points to finish at 316.60.

Jakarta: Indonesian share prices closed 3.5 per cent higher, breaking through the 500 point mark on heavy foreign buying of blue chips amid optimism about a new presidential power-sharing arrangement. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 17.172 points at 505.791.