Asian shares mostly lower

HONG KONG, Mar 28 (AFP): Asian shares mostly fell Monday, with Tokyo slipping as emergency work to bring under control a crippled nuclear plant in Japan continued to be held up by high levels of radioactivity. Crews battling to avoid a wider nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No.1 plant, which was rocked by the March 11 quake and tsunami, have suffered several setbacks, with workers forced to evacuate by soaring radiation levels. Tokyo slipped 0.60 per cent, or 57.60 points, to close at 9,478.53 and Sydney shed 0.19 per cent, or 9.0 points, to 4,733.6, while Hong Kong fell 0.39 per cent, or 90.48 points, to 23,068.19. However, late buying helped Seoul to end up 0.11 per cent, or 2.35 points, at 2,056.39, while Shanghai closed up 0.21 per cent, or 6.19 points, at 2,056.39. Investors were upbeat last week as work to contain the Fukushima crisis appeared to be going well, but reports of rising levels of radiation have hampered workers' efforts, stoking uncertainty over how quickly the situation will be resolved. Dangerous levels of radiation detected in water puddles thought to be leaking from a stricken reactor have also dealt a blow to efforts to restore cooling systems at the plant. And at a press conference Monday, officials for the first time mentioned the possibility that the core pressure vessels of reactors one, two and three may all be damaged, Jiji Press news agency reported. Shares in Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which operates the plant, plunged 17.73 per cent amid criticism over its handling of the deepening crisis. "The power plant issue is a psychological weight on the market and investors are having a difficult time finding direction amid uncertainty over corporate earnings," said Naoki Fujiwara, fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. Concerns over the Japanese crisis overshadowed another strong cue from Wall Street on Friday, where the Dow closed up 0.41 per cent thanks to an upward revision of the growth figure for the US economy in the last quarter of 2010. The Commerce Department said the world's biggest economy expanded at a rate of 3.1 per cent in the three months to December 31, up from the initial forecast of 2.8 per cent, adding to evidence the recovery there is gaining strength. The data and comments by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser on Friday that monetary policy would have to be normalised "in the not-too-distant future" boosted the dollar. The Fed in 2008 slashed rates to near-zero in a bid to lessen the impact of the global financial crisis and has flooded markets with cash as part of its quantitative easing policy. A hike in rates and less money being sunk into the market leads to more demand for the unit. However, the upbeat data out of the United States sent the Australian dollar to a record $1.0310, its highest since floating on 1983, as dealers developed more risk appetite. On oil markets, crude eased slightly but uprisings across the oil-rich Middle East and military strikes on crude exporter Libya supported prices. In other markets: -- Singapore fell 0.44 per cent, or 13.46 points, to 3,057.38. DBS Bank gained 0.14 per cent to Sg$14.34 while Singapore Airlines fell 0.45 per cent to Sg$13.40. -- Taipei fell 0.67 per cent, or 57.33 points, to 8,553.06. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co was 0.28 per cent lower at Tw$71.0 while MediaTek lost 0.73 per cent at Tw$340.5. -- Manila rose 0.98 per cent, or 38.17 points, to end at 3,913.98. Energy Development gained 0.8 per cent to 6.00 pesos and Philippine Long Distance Telephone added 0.6 per cent to 2,036. -- Jakarta fell 0.12 per cent, or 4.25 points, to 3,602.86. -- Kuala Lumpur ended flat, edging down 1.30 points to 1,514.25. UEM Land fell 3.3 per cent to 2.67 ringgit, Tenaga Nasional shed 1.5 per cent to 6.00 and Petronas Chemicals closed up 1.8 per cent at 6.95. -- Bangkok fell 0.46 per cent, or 4.79 points, to close at 1,032.94. Banpu lost 10.00 baht at 756.00 baht and PTT fell 2.00 baht at 346.00. -- Indian shares rose 0.68 per cent with the benchmark 30-share Sensex Index ending up 127.5 points to 18,943.14. Tata Motors rose 3.25 per cent or 38.45 rupees to 1,220.3, Bharti Airtel rose 2.57 per cent or 8.7 rupees to 347.8 while DB Realty plunged 14.02 per cent.