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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (58432)	1/5/2002 2:51:13 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

01/04 21:13 Japan's NEC May Rise; Taiwan, Hong Kong Shares Seen Gaining By Yukiko Takai and Michael Tsang quote.bloomberg.com Tokyo, Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average may gain next week, led by NEC Corp. and other chipmakers, after an analyst said demand for Intel Corp.'s products rose, fueling optimism the semiconductor industry will recover from a yearlong slump. Mizuho Holdings Inc. and other lenders may fall, limiting index gains, on concern rising bankruptcies will hamper their efforts to write off bad debt. ``The best buying opportunity for tech stocks may come in January or February. Investors will try to catch the rally at an early stage so that they won't miss it,'' said Yoshiya Morimoto, who helps manage $7.2 billion at Japan Investment Trust Management Co. ``The U.S. recovery and improved computer-chip demand will underpin their growth.'' In other markets, Taiwan and Hong Kong stocks will probably gain, led by exporters such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd., on optimism a rebound in the U.S. will boost their business. Korea's Kospi index may fall as investors bet its 16 percent gain in a month already reflects any increase in corporate profits. On Friday, the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.6 percent to 1,172.51 on expectations companies will benefit from an economic recovery after 11 interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 2059.38, ending up 3.6 percent for the week. Optimism the U.S. economy may be recovering got a boost from a Labor Department report that job losses were lower in December than in the prior three months. Payrolls dropped by 124,000 last month after falling 371,000 in November and 448,000 in October. That may suggest the worst of company firings is over, investors and analysts said. Asia exports about a third of its products to the U.S., according to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., leaving many of the region's companies vulnerable to a slowing U.S. economy.