Gottfried, Following is the post I was referred to.
Tables were attached at the bottom.
Paul V.
interactive.wsj.com
October 17, 1998
Asia Stocks
Markets Extend Asia Rally
On Fed's Interest-Rate Cut
An INTERACTIVE JOURNAL News Roundup
Shares in Taiwan and South Korea rose Saturday,
following Friday's surge in Asian-Pacific equities markets
in response to a surprise interest-rate cut by the U.S.
Federal Reserve.
The Fed announced an unexpected cut in the target for the
federal-funds rate as well as discount rate Thursday by a
quarter of a percentage point. The news sent stocks soaring
on Wall Street Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial
Average jumping more than 4%.
Taiwan gained 1.5% on the
back of the region's rally in
its first day of trading since
the rate cut was announced.
Taiwan's financial markets
were ordered closed Friday
due to Typhoon Zeb.
Meanwhile, South Korean
shares jumped 2.5% on the fall in local and U.S. interest
rates.
On Friday, Tokyo stocks rose 2.2%. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng rose 9% to its highest level since early May as
property stocks and banks led the rally as investors
anticipated local rate cuts. Moments after the market closed
Friday, the Hong Kong Association of Banks cut its deposit
rate. Banks followed with a reduction in their prime
lending rate to 9.75% from 10%. China's Class B shares
were fueled by the U.S. rate cut and the resulting surge in
Hong Kong stocks.
Indonesian shares leaped 10.7% following the rate cuts and
regional gains, Philippine shares jumped more than 7% on
news of the rate cut. Stocks in Australia rose on speculation
the Reserve Bank of Australia will follow the Fed's lead
and cut its key domestic interest rate. Singapore shares rose
9.3%, Thai shares surged 8.1% and Malaysian shares
closed higher on the rate cut.
But Indian shares ended mixed as heavy selling in some
blue-chip stocks damped enthusiasm over the U.S. rate cut
and the region's rally.
Despite gains in Japan's Nikkei 225 average, persistent
worries about the Japanese economy and effectiveness of
the bank bills passed this week stood in the way of further
gains.
"The market's direction depends on how the financial
revitalization measures will be implemented, and especially
how the troubled Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan will be
dealt with," said Masaru Arai, general manager at Ryoko
Securities. "If current banking woes are cleared, bank
shares can rebound more strongly."
In dollar terms, the Asia-Pacific sector of the Dow Jones
Global Indexes advanced 2.63 to 73.72 at 6:30 p.m. EDT
after rising 1.48 Thursday. The Dow Jones World Stock
Index lifted 2.70 to 177.14, after jumping 5.22 the
previous session. |
