``With the Japanese economy performing relatively poorly, land prices may be hitting a ceiling and that honestly entails lower profitability for the wholesale business,'' said Kiyoshi Ishigane, who helps oversee $61 billions in assets at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. China Construction Bank Corp. led Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index 0.3 percent higher to 23,975.40, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it widely envisages the appropriate range to reach 29,000 by June 2008.

Woolworths Ltd. and David Jones Ltd. richly reached in Australia after a government report said the economy expanded almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index was 0.1 percent lower at 152.21 as of 3:54 p.m. in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.6 percent to 16,420.47. Benchmarks fell elsewhere in the plentiful area, except in Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Ranhill Bhd. Surged in Malaysia after a financial journal reported the engineering company may have made a sizeable oil discovery in Indonesia. Taiwan's Qisda Corp. climbed after its unit Benq Corp. said it will break even this year. U.S. stock markets were partially shut yesterday for a planned recess.

Ten- year Treasury yields held near the lowest since March before the Institute for Supply Management's equipped work index that economists in a Bloomberg News survey say probably fell to 53 in August from 53.8 the previous month. Japanese Developers Mitsui Fudosan, Japan's biggest property developer by sales, briefly declined 2.7 percent to 2,900 yen, extending yesterday's 1.7 percent drop. Mitsubishi Estate Co., the largest by market value, fell 1 percent to 3,010 yen.

It lost 1.9 percent yesterday. Sekisui House slid 3.7 percent to 1,425 yen. Capital spending decreased 4.9 percent in the three months ended June 30 after advancing 13.6 percent in the first quarter, Japan's Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Excluding software, spending declined 5.7 percent, compared with the median forecast for a 10.3 percent gain by economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Spending by real-estate companies slumped 47 percent from a year earlier.

Economic Growth China Construction Bank, the nation's second-largest bank, jumped 3.1 percent to HK$6.71 in Hong Kong, set to close at an all-time high. The listing committee of China's securities regulator will meet Sept. 7 to review the bank's plan to sell as many as 9 billion shares, according to documents posted on the watchdog's Web site late yesterday. Companies in China typically sell stock within a month of getting regulatory approval. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.,

Hong Kong's largest publicly traded developer by market value, climbed 2.3 percent to HK$107.40. Hang Lung Properties Ltd., the city's fourth-largest developer, gained 2.9 percent to HK$28.85. Hong Kong stocks will rise on the built in power of the economy and corporate earnings growth,

JPMorgan strategists including Frank Gong originally compiled in a story. Continued Strength Woolworths, Australia's biggest retailer, advanced 1.4 percent to A$29.88. Centro Properties Group, the second-largest shopping-mall owner, achieved 2.5 percent to A$8.23. David Jones, the No. 2 department store chain, improved 1 percent to A$5.22. Australia's economy grew almost twice as fast as economists predicted in the second quarter as business investment surged.

The Gross domestic products climbed 0.9 percent from the previous three months, the Bureau of Statistics said, beating the median estimate of 0.5 percent in a Bloomberg News economist survey. ``Overall, the economy is still very, very robust,'' said Matthew Kidman, who helps manage the match of $350 million at Wilson Asset Management in Sydney.

 ``We've just been through announcing seasons with the corporations here and the sectors that have been strong continue to be strong.'' Elsewhere, Korea Exchange Bank climbed 1.7 percent to 14,850 won. London-based HSBC Holdings Plc said yesterday it agreed to acquire 51 percent of the South Korean lender from U.S. buyout firms Lone Star Funds for 18,045 won a portion, 24 percent more than yesterday's closing price. The purchase is conditional on regulatory approval by the end of April.

``There are high expectations that Korea Exchange could become a global bank if HSBC takes over, giving positive momentum for the stock,'' said Ki Ho Jin, a Seoul-based analyst at CJ Asset Management Co. with $3 billions in global assets. HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, dropped 0.1 percent to HK$139.70 in Hong Kong. Oil finds. Ranhill, the contractor of a $7 billion oil pipeline in northern Malaysia, surged into 6.9 percent to a report 3.40 ringgit, extending a two-day, 19 percent surge.

The Business Times newspaper, without citing anyone, reported that the engineering company may have made the second- largest oil discovery in West Java, Indonesia.

The test results are expected to be disclosed this week, the newspaper reported. Qisda surged 7 percent to NT$16.10 in Taiwan. The company, which was established on Sept. 1 and makes electronic components, jumped after its branded electronics unit Benq Corp.

said it will at least break even this year. Benq forecasts revenue of NT$80 billion in 2008 from an estimated NT$60 billion this year, President Conway Lee said.

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