Asian stocks gain on Nasdaq's rally
Yen again drops to 18-month low vs. dollar
By Mariko Ando & Vivian Chu, CBS.MarketWatch.com
3:42 AM ET Jan 12, 2001
TOKYO (CBS.MW) - Buoyed by Nasdaq's three-day winning streak, most Asian markets chalked up firm gains Friday, with the Korean benchmark's 4.6-percent gain leading the way.
Japan's Nikkei snapped a three-day losing streak, rising 1.11 percent, or 146.67 points, to end the week's session at 13,347.74. The broader TOPIX was up 0.63 percent at 1,237.88.
Tokyo's upside was capped, however, by continuing sales of cross-held shares ahead of the March 31 end of the business year. Banks, in particular, have been selling shares they hold in each other to balance their books and support capital-adequacy ratios coming under pressure amid the Nikkei's slide.
The rebound in Japanese stocks initially appeared to break the yen's fall, but not for long. The yen fell as low as to 118.18 per dollar early in the afternoon -- its lowest level since July 22, 1999 -- before firming slightly to trade at 118.00 yen. That's down from 117.80 yen late Thursday in New York.
Inspired by the Nasdaq's 4.6-percent run up overnight, leading Japanese technology shares climbed. NEC Corp. (NIPNY: news, msgs) jumped 5.6 percent to 2,265 yen and Sony Corp. (SNE: news, msgs) rose 2.1 percent to 8,800 yen. Toshiba closed up 3.9 percent at 769 yen.
Internet investor Softbank, which has invested several Nasdaq-listed stocks, saw its shares rebound 5.8 percent to 3,175 yen.
Mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NTDMY: news, msgs) added 1.0 percent to 1.97 million yen after being sold in the recent session on market rumor that the company plans to issue 460,000 new shares in a very near future.
Meanwhile, banks and pharmaceutical issues lost ground.
South Korea soars; Taiwan dips
South Korea's market soared on foreign buying in blue-chip shares. The benchmark Seoul Composite rallied over 6 percent at one stage before easing slightly to close up 4.64 percent at 587.87 points. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics (SSNGY: news, msgs) rallied 5.5 percent to 192,000 won.
Leading wireless operator SK Telecom (SKM: news, msgs) jumped 6.5 percent to 293,500 won. Fixed-line leader Korea Telecom (KTC: news, msgs) soared 10.6 percent to 76,900 won.
Hyundai Motor shares (HYMZY: news, msgs) jumped 8.3 percent to 13,100 won, after local media reported that the automaker is soon to close a deal with DaimlerChrysler (DCX: news, msgs) to launch a commercial vehicle joint venture in April.
Hong Kong shares made firm gains, led by large-cap property shares. The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 1.36 percent, or 204.65 points, to 15,295.42.
Shares of the city's biggest developer Cheung Kong Holdings (CHEUY: news, msgs) rose 2.5 percent to 101.50 Hong Kong dollars, while number two firm Sun Hung Kai Properties (SUHJY: news, msgs) advanced 2.9 percent to 80.50 Hong Kong dollars.
Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCW: news, msgs) , Asia's second biggest Internet and telecoms company, fell 2.7 percent at 4.55 Hong Kong dollars, after falling to a year-low on Thursday over concerns that Britain's Cable & Wireless (CWP: news, msgs) may sell CyberWorks shares once a lock-up period expires next month.
Taiwan's stock prices opened lower and stayed there. The Weighted Index slipped 0.56 percent to 5,339.40 points, extending Thursday's 1.24 percent decline. Leading tech shares were flat, as many investors cashed out ahead of a 10-day Chinese New Year holiday that begins next Friday.
In Australia, the All Ordinaries Index gained 0.51 percent to 3,188.60 points, led by a 3.8 percent gain in shares of News Corp. (NWS: news, msgs) , which closed at 16.50 Australian dollars. Earlier, News shares hit 16.79 Australian dollars, the highest level since December 7. Shares of volume leader Telstra Corp. (TLS: news, msgs) rose 1.5 percent at 6.78 Australian dollars.
New Zealand's NZ Top 40 ended up 1.06 percent at 1,928.41 points, boosted by a 4.3 percent jump in shares of volume leader Telecom Corp. of New Zealand (NZT: news, msgs) , which ended at 5.08 New Zealand dollars.
Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.39 percent to 1,922.53 points by late afternoon. Malaysia's KLSE Composite edged up 0.75 percent to 680.85 points.
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