There was no relief for the Taiwan market though, which plunged another 6.5 per cent after the previous day's 4.7 per cent fall on continuing political and economic worries. The Taipei market has fallen over 14 per cent this week alone. Shares in Tokyo fell 0.4 per cent on selling of hi-tech issues but many investors stayed on the sidelines due to rising concern over the performance of Wall Street.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index lost 61.40 points to close at 14,811.08, the lowest finish since March 8, 1999 when the index ended at 14,779.05. The index edged up in the morning session on speculation that Wall Street might have bottomed out. But in the afternoon session, investors started selling shares, particularly hi-tech stocks, and took a wait-and-see stance due to rising concern over the performance of Wall Street.

Hong Kong: Share prices closed 0.2 per cent lower as late bargain hunting offset early falls spurred by volatility on Wall Street. The key Hang Seng index lost 36.00 points to close at 14,422.52 on turnover of 13.17 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.70 billion US).

Marty Chan, a trader with Polaris Securities, said the volatility on Wall Street continued to weaken the Hang Seng index, although a technical rebound in telecom stocks helped limit the day's losses. "We did not see any panic selling in the local stock market, but the Hang Seng Index was lower, after the falls on Wall Street last night," he said.

Singapore: Shares closed 3.0 per cent higher on expectations of a Wall Street rebound. The Straits Times Index rose 55.49 points to 1,884.05. Dealers cautioned the sharp gains were not a clear indication of improving market sentiment.

A dealer from a foreign brokerage said strong gains in Nasdaq futures triggered buying in select blue chips and a dealer with a local brokerage said short covering by investors also boosted the market. "We have been seeing some short covering ... but you can can'T say there is a turnaround in market sentiment based on one day's trading," he said, adding that institutional investors remained sidelined.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian shares ended 0.3 per cent higher on late institutional buying of selected heavyweight stocks. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index finished up 2.17 points at 774.20. "The composite index was up at the end of the day because institutional players were pushing up selected stocks like Tenaga," said a senior dealer at a bank-backed brokerage. Dealers also noted a rebound in technology stocks led by Malaysian Pacific Industries.

Seoul: South Korean share prices inched up 0.2 per cent on fresh foreign interest in telecom stocks. The Korea Stock Exchange index closed up 0.87 points at 515.04. Trading got off to a weak start following Wall Street's overnight falls. But the index reversed its early losses following foreign buying of leading tlecom stocks, including Samsung Electronics, on expectations of South Korea's increased access to the Chinese handset market, dealers said. Analysts, however, said the market would continue its weak trend on concerns over Hyundai Engineering's liquidity problems.

Manila: Philippine share prices fell 0.5 per cent on fears key interest rates may be raised to prop up the peso amid a political crisis involving alleged bribes to President Joseph Estrada. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index inched down 6.71 points to close at 1,256.96.

"The market's actually down due to the pressure on the peso which may mean another increase in overnight rates," said Manny Cruz of Mark Securities Corp. "There's also the instability of the political situation. These concerns are creating havoc at the stock exchange and we are faced with the breakdown of the 1,250 support level," he added.

Taipei: Taiwan share prices plunged 6.5 per cent to a new four and a half year low on margin call pressures amid a crisis of confidence and overnight losses on Wall Street. The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index slumped 350.95 points to close at 5,081.28, the lowest level since March 28, 1996, when the index closed at 5,032.35.

Bangkok: Thai share prices closed 3.0 per cent higher as investors switched their interest to non-bank stocks. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 8.01 points to close at 276.19 and the SET 50 was up 0.61 points at 19.07.

Jakarta: Indonesian share prices closed 1.4 per cent higher on extended gains in tobacco stock Gudang Garam and other blue chip companies. The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 5.785 points at 422.733, off a low of 413.641, on 128.8 million shares valued at 391.95 billion rupiah (44 million dollars).