Despite Gains on Nasdaq, Jakarta Shares Fail to Rise
A WSJ.com News Roundup
Shares finished higher in key markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region Friday, following sharp gains on Wall Street Thursday, but continued protests hurt stocks in Indonesia.
Indonesian shares ended lower amid growing political uncertainty after a series of demonstrations against President Abdurrahman Wahid this week, with the market hurt further in afternoon trade after three unexploded bombs were found at a popular Jakarta theme park.
Speculation that Singapore's Asia Pulp & Paper will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to the sluggish performance of its share price weighed on shares of its pulp-producing unit Indah Kiat , which lost 6.1%, or 50 rupiah, to 775 rupiah. Shares in Asia Pulp and Paper's paper-producing unit Tjiwi Kimia fell 4.8%, or 25 rupiah, to 500 rupiah.
The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.19%, or 85.71, to 2768.49 Thursday. After sagging 39% last year, the Nasdaq has gained 12% in the first days of 2001. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 93.94 to 10678.28.
Advances in the Nasdaq lifted shares in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India and Thailand, with gains centered in the tech and telecom sectors.
Hong Kong shares rose to a three-month high on a wave of buying in local telecom and tech stocks after a slew of positive earnings reports from U.S. technology and Internet companies. Telecom stocks also rose on speculation that Pacific Century CyberWorks is actively looking for a buyer for Cable & Wireless 's stake in the company, which the London company is allowed to sell next month. Worries about the share sale, which could further depress CyberWorks' stock, has plagued its market performance. CyberWorks rose for the second day in a row, gaining 37.50 Hong Kong cents, or 8.8%, to 4.63 Hong Kong dollars.
Internet stocks rose after tycoon Li Ka-shing's Internet portal Tom.com said its fourth-quarter losses narrowed by more than half to HK$78.3 million from previous quarter. Tom.com gained 23% to HK$2.50.
Tokyo stocks finished mixed Friday, with the main index rising for a sixth straight session of gains, with continued hopes for stock market-supporting measures from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The Nasdaq's rise sent a number of Internet-related stocks sharply higher. Softbank rose 10% to 5,390 yen, Yahoo Japan rallied 15% to 7.85 million yen and Hikari Tsushin added 16% to 2,840 yen -- all ending at their respective daily limit-highs. Rakuten gained 8.9% to 980,000 yen.
South Korean shares closed sharply higher on strong foreign buying despite profit-taking by local investors ahead of next week's Lunar New Year holiday. Semiconductor shares rose sharply on expectation of a recovery in the industry this year, said Lee Young-won, an analyst at Daewoo Securities. Anam Semiconductor , a smaller chip maker, gained by its 15% daily limit, or 330 won to 6,780 won.
Indian shares ended sharply higher on continued foreign fund buying in tech stocks as leading software company Wipro beat market expectations in its quarterly results. Wipro shares jumped 10.4% to 2914 rupees after the company announced third quarter net profit more than doubled .
Thai shares finished slightly higher, with tech sector gains capped by profit-taking in banking and finance stocks. Thai Telephone & Telecommunications rose 10.9% to 5.10 baht. The company has recently won creditors' approval of its 44 billion baht debt-restructuring plan. Singapore shares closed higher, as investors switched out of bank stocks and into tech issues, which benefited from bargain hunting.
Philippine shares finished higher on a technical rebound following losses in previous sessions. Gains came despite mounting protests against and in favor of President Joseph Estrada .
Malaysian shares ended higher as retail investors raced into the market for the traditional Lunar New Year rally. Shares linked to businessman Halim Saad were among the most heavily-traded shares, with shares in Renong gaining 9.4% to 1.17 ringgit and Time Engineering 's stock adding 12.4% to 2.36 ringgit. The rise comes ahead of publication next week of the prospectus for the initial public offering of telecommunications arm Time dotCom, and dealers say investors are gambling on a positive response to the offer despite analysts' prediction that it won't even be fully subscribed.
Australia's shares closed higher, boosted by gains in telecom, resources and banking stocks. China's shares finished higher across the board in a generally quiet trading session.
Financial markets in Taiwan will be closed from January 19 to 28 for the Lunar New Year holiday. Trading will resume January 29. China's markets will be closed for the next two weeks.
In dollar terms, around 6:30 p.m. EST, the Asia-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones Global Indexes gained 0.73 to 94.50, after declining 0.15 in the previous session. The Dow Jones World Stock Index added 0.68 to 214.22 after adding 2.42 in the previous session.
Shipbuilding and agriculture shares led the markets, while trucking and railroad equities were among the laggards. Australia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Singapore S. Korea Taiwan Thailand * -- Previous Close; Market Closed Due to Lunar New Year Holiday
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