HONG KONG - Asian shares closed mostly down Tuesday on continuing concerns about a US-led global economic slowdown and ahead of the long Lunar New Year holiday break, when many bourses will be shut.

Most of the region's major stock markets ended in the red, including a 0.82 percent fall in Japan. Shares in Hong Kong, Australia, China and Singapore also closed down.

The weaker performance in Asia after a rally on Monday followed overnight falls on Wall Street.

The US hopes steep interest rate cuts and a 145-billion-dollar economic stimulus package will stave off recession, but many investors remain wary. A default crisis among so-called 'subprime' - or riskier - borrowers has pummelled the world's biggest economy, a key buyer of Asian goods, and ballooned into a global credit crunch.

Taiwan's stock market was shut Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holiday. South Korea and China close for a long break from Wednesday, and many of the region's bourses will be shut on Thursday and Friday.

Tokyo

Japanese share prices closed down 0.82 percent as investors locked in gains from the previous day's rally amid stubborn concerns about the outlook for the US economy, dealers said.

They said investors were cautious ahead of another slew of earnings results from Japanese corporate heavyweights including Toyota Motor Corp., which reported a record third-quarter performance after the closing bell.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 114.20 points to 13,745.50. The broader Topix index of all first-section shares ended down 9.24 points, or 0.68 percent, at 1,355.48.

Decliners outpaced gainers 971 to 631, with 123 issues unchanged. Turnover was 2.026 billion shares, little changed from 2.025 billion Monday.

"The market continued on a rebound trend, and the Nikkei may touch 14,000 this week," said Shinko Securities strategist Tsuyoshi Segawa.

"But stocks are expected to be top heavy as the uncertainty over US credit worries remains to be cleared up and investors may keep a wait-and-see stance before the long weekend," Segawa said.

Japanese financial markets will be closed next Monday for a public holiday.

Toyota Motor reported a 4.7 percent rise in third-quarter operating profit but its shares ended down 120 yen, or 2.0 percent, at 5,780 ahead of the results.

Among property stocks, Mitsui Fudosan was down 80 yen, or 3.2 percent, at 2,415. In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial slipped 10,000 yen, or 2.0 percent to 485,000.

Exporters were weaker, with Sony down 110 yen, or 2.3 percent, at 4,710 and Canon 90 yen, or 2.0 percent, lower at 4,530.

Yamaha Motor was limit-down 400 yen, or 15.2 percent, at 2,225 as investors felt uneasy about its weak earnings guidance for 2008, dealers said.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong share prices closed 0.9 percent lower, dealers said. The Hang Seng Index closed 223.38 points at 24,808.70. Turnover was 85.03 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.9 billion US dollars) ahead of the February 7-8 holidays.

"We followed the movements of the other major Asian markets, most of which were lower today. In these uncertain times nobody wants to enter the market ahead of a long holiday," said YK Chan from Phillip Capital Management.

The IMF said Tuesday Hong Kong's economy may expand 4.6 percent this year, down from an estimated six percent in 2007.

"Looking ahead, growth is expected to slow to below five percent in 2008, largely due to a moderation in global demand," the IMF said in a report.

Hong Kong Exchanges Clearing tumbled 4.7 percent to 171.50. HSBC Holdings fell 1.7 percent to 118.80. China Mobile ended 30 cents lower at 123.10.

Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was down 2.5 percent at 13.26 as investors locked in gains after the stock's strong recent rally.

Chalco's parent, Chinalco, has rejected speculation that it wants to raise its stake in Rio Tinto after last week acquiring 12 percent of the company's London-listed shares with partner Alcoa.