Tokyo Stocks Start Year Strong
01/03/00
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks began the new year brightly on Tuesday, quickly jumping above the key 19,000 mark in early trade following solid overnight gains on the U.S. Nasdaq market, traders said. At 0008 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei average was up 253.27 points or 1.34 percent at 19,187.61, breaching the 19,000 level for the first time since November 26. The March futures contract was up 280 points at 19,110.
But traders said volume would be limited due to the half-day trading session. Full trading will resume on Wednesday.
The Tokyo market continued to be led by high-technology and telecommunication shares, with telecom carrier DDI Corp soaring 90,000 yen or 6.43 percent to 1.49 million yen as of 0024 GMT and mobile phone giant NTT Docomo rising 130,000 yen or 3.31 percent to 4.06 million yen. Among high-tech blue-chips, Sony Corp gained 900 yen or 2.97 percent to 31,200, extending its all-time high, while NEC Corp was up 135 yen or 5.54 percent at 2,570. |
