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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (40986)	9/6/2001 8:10:22 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Japan banks soar on IMF plan HK, Taipei fall after Nasdaq loses again By Mariko Ando, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 4:35 AM ET Sep 6, 2001 TOKYO (CBS.MW) - Japanese banks soared Thursday after the government threw its support behind the International Monetary Fund's proposal to conduct an examination of Japan's financial system. The banks' gains helped the Nikkei Average end on a positive note. After trading sideways for most of the day, the key index added 0.49 percent, or 51.54 points, to close at 10,650.33. The broader Topix rose 0.28 percent to 1,090.74. Investors rushed to buy banks such as Mizuho Holdings and UFJ Holdings on news that Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa and IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler had agreed to set the details of the IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program for Japan. See full story. "The market thought this would help improve the transparency of Japan's debt-laden banks. Investors were also seeking chance to buy back bank shares, " said Teruhisa Ishikawa, deputy manager of the investment products planning section at Izumi Securities. "So even though the news didn't confirm the timing of IMF's assessment, it was good enough to become a buying factor." The world's biggest bank Mizuho Holdings (8305) rallied 3.9 percent to 538,000 yen and another banking giant UFJ Holdings (8307) climbed 5.5 percent to 667,000 yen. Tokyo Mitsubishi Financial Group (8306) gained 1.9 percent to 1.06 million yen. Ishikawa cautioned, however, that market sentiment still remained fragile and the Nikkei could break below the 10,000 line depending on upcoming GDP results -- or a priority list for the government's structural reform steps. The Japanese government is scheduled to release April-June quarter GDP data on Friday morning. See pulse The government is also expected to unveil its priority list of structural reform measures late next week. Technology shares fell due to their murky business outlook. Matsushita Electric (MC) (6752) tumbled 2.1 percent to 1,704 yen on a Nihon Keizai daily report that the world's biggest consumer electronics maker may post a group net loss of 100 billion yen ($827.3 million) in the business year ending March. See pulse Matsushita Communication Industrial (6781) dived 7.9 percent to 3,750 yen. The Chinese government has asked Japan's leading maker of cell phone handsets to suspend sales of mobile phones made by its Chinese venture for a year, according to the Nihon Keizai daily. The paper said Beijing complained about MCI mobile handsets that display "ROC" -- the abbreviation for the Republic of China. Among other technology firms, NEC (NIPNY) (6701) dropped 6 percent to 1,338 yen and Hitachi (HIT) (6501) lost 2 percent to 857 yen. NTT DoCoMo (NTDMY) (9437) fell 2.2 percent to 1.35 million yen. The dollar was quoted at 121.22 yen by late afternoon Tokyo, up from 120.75 yen late Wednesday in New York. HK, Taipei drop, but Seoul firms Other markets in the region were generally lower after the Nasdaq closed weaker for the second straight session. The Dow, however, slightly firmed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index sank 278.82 points, or 2.55 percent, to close at 10,664.32. Telecom shares led losers. China Mobile (CHL) (0941), the mainland's largest mobile phone company, dropped 6.3 percent to 21.6 Hong Kong dollars. Rival China Unicom (CHU) (0762), China's No. 2 phone company, lost 3.3 percent to HK$8.9. Embattled Internet and telecoms firm Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCW) (0008) lost 4.5 percent to HK$1.71 on concerns over the company's business outlook. The company is expected to post interim results later in the day. In Taipei, stocks drifted lower as tech issues mirrored the bearish performance of their U.S. peers. The Weighted Index closed down 1.96 percent at 4,338.26. The world's foundry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) dropped 2.3 percent to 64.00 Taiwan dollars. Compal Electronic (CMPLY) sank 5.7 percent to T$31.60. But in South Korea, the Kospi added 0.12 percent to close at 552.59 after the central Bank of Korea decided to keep its target for the overnight call rate unchanged at 4.50 percent for September. Banking shares rose following the central bank's decision. Kookmin Bank (KKBKY) climbed 2.6 percent to 17,800 won, while the Korea Exchange Bank (KOOQY) rallied 4.3 percent to 2,695 won. But telecom and technology shares weakened. SK Telecom (SKM) fell 1.6 percent to 215,000 won and Samsung Electronics gave up half a percent to 188,500 won. Australia's All Ordinaries Index fell 0.7 percent to close at 3,208.40. News Corp. (NWS) lost 2.7 percent to 15.64 Australian dollars despite its announcement of a video-on-demand joint venture with Walt Disney (DIS). See full story. In New Zealand, the benchmark NZ Top 40 dropped 1.22 percent to close at 2,002.57, dragged down by a 2.8 percent fall in shares of Telecom NZ (NZT)l to 4.8 New Zealand dollars. Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 0.75 percent at 1,610.29 by late afternoon. Singapore Telecommunications (SGTJY) fell 3.2 percent to 1.83 Singapore dollars. SingTel said it will list its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange next Monday. Malaysia's KLSE Composite was trading down 0.18 percent at 687.69 by late afternoon. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------