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Technology Stocks : Healthcare.com Corporation (Nasdaq: HCDC)was [HDIE] -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Shadow who wrote (3971)	9/16/1998 7:16:00 AM
From: Emec	Respond to of 15094

SINGAPORE, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Most Asian markets closed stronger on Wednesday, buoyed in part by Wall Street's third straight gain and hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut. Shares in Singapore were the region's top performer, ending the day up nearly five percent after several local banks cut their prime lending rates. Thai and Philippine stocks rose more than three percent, while Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia nudged up more than one percent. But shares in Tokyo failed to hold on to modest gains earlier and ended the day lower, down 29.67 points at 14,197.70. Traders were waiting for Japan's opposition parties to say if they would accept a compromise on dealing with ailing Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. Traders said the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's compromise proposal on LTCB, which reportedly involved a temporary nationalisation of the ailing lender, captured attention, but the outlook remained gloomy. Hong Kong stocks took their cue from Wall Street's near one percent gain and strong interest in China-related shares. Investors expect China to stimulate its economy, a move that will help Chinese companies and local firms with mainland interests, dealers said. The Hang Seng Index closed up 127.21 points, or 1.64 percent, at 7,860.68. China has said it will stimulate its economy with infrastructure spending while reconstruction in areas devastated by flooding is expected to boost growth. ''The focus is now on reconstruction,'' said Alex Tang, research director at Core Pacific-Yamaichi International. Anticipation of lower interest rates in China was also encouraging buying in the sector, and Tang expected buying to continue. U.S. stocks swept higher on Tuesday on expectations Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan would hint in congressional testimony on Wednesday about a possible cut in interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 79.04 points at 8,024.39, building on strong rises on Monday and Friday. Wall Street was also hoping that global leaders were serious about tackling financial turmoil, which has hurt Asia and Russia and threatens to spread. The prospects of lower lending rates in Europe and the United States and talk of a multi-billion dollar rescue package from the International Monetary Fund to shore up Brazil's economy calmed jangled nerves. Talk of a possible rescue package drove Brazil's Bovespa stock index up 18 percent. Singapore shares rose for the third day in a row with the key Straits Times Index (STI) closing up 4.93 percent, or 44.47 points, to 946.75. Dealers said property stocks saw active interest after DBS Bank, Singapore's largest bank, cut its prime rate to 7.25 percent from 7.5 percent, effective Wednesday. After the market closed, OCBC Bank also trimmed its prime lending rate to 7.25 percent, becoming the third major local bank to do so. Thai stocks ended two days of losses with a rally centred on bank shares and fuelled by falling domestic interest rates and hopes of global interest rate cuts. Bangkok's Composite SET finished up 3.61 percent, at 218.70, but off a day high of 220.89. Malaysian shares shrugged off several days of profit-taking on late buying by local investors and rumours of rollover of investments by domestic institutions, dealers and analysts said. Dealers said the blue-chip Composite Index, which ended 1.27 percent higher at 394.04 points, was under the check of profit takers in the morning, but heavy volume trading helped it break out of the earlier falls. Jakarta stocks ended little changed on Wednesday after plunging nearly nine percent the day before. Traders cautioned that sentiment for the market remained poor. After a see-saw session in which shares briefly surged over two percent and later fell one percent, the composite index ended down 1.24 points, or 0.42 percent, at 290.92 points.