biz.yahoo.com
HONG KONG, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks were swept to a
sharply higher close on Thursday as a record close on Wall Street overnight and expectations of a local interest rate cut brought a wave of liquidity into the market.
The blue chip Hang Seng Index finished up 459.77 points or 4.49 percent at 10,693.57 after hitting a high of 10,737.76.
Turnover surged to a robust HK$10.59 billion, its highest level since November 24 and more than three times Wednesday's HK$3.40 billion.
''People are looking at Wall Street and also the whole region has gone crazy,'' said Frederick Tsang, head of research at DBS Securities.
biz.yahoo.com
SINGAPORE, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's record highs inspired big gains in Asia on Thursday, driving shares in Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul up more than four percent.
Australia closed at a record high, Jakarta surged seven percent, Manila hit a seven-month peak and Taipei added 3.3 percent as markets across the region extended a fast-paced start to 1999.
biz.yahoo.com
TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The yen's rally will dim Japan's chances of realising a long-awaited economic recovery by hitting its big manufacturers, analysts say.
The yen's rapid surge -- partly buoyed by the launch of the euro -- will further eat into the profits of top manufacturers such as Sony Corp and Toyota Motor, mired in the nation's longest and steepest recession since World War Two, they said.
''The yen's rise came together with higher interest rates. The corporate sector is full of bad news,'' said Tomoko Fujii, economist at Salomon Smith Barney. ''Under such conditions, we may see another flurry of corporate restructuring.''
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