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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Tokyo Joe's Cafe / Societe Anonyme/No Pennies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jane4IceCream who wrote (31509)	12/20/1998 9:05:00 PM
From: Tim Luke	Respond to of 119973

Sunday December 20, 7:49 pm Eastern Time Asia markets nervous on Clinton impact on Wall St (Changes dateline, adds Tokyo markets opening) By Tamawa Kadoya TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Bill Clinton's impeachment kept Asian markets cautious in early Monday trade, heightening investor concern over his administration's ability to exert global economic leadership and casting a cloud over the dollar. The dollar eased against the yen in early Tokyo trade to about 115.09 yen against 116.10 in late New York on Friday. Tokyo share prices opened weaker, with the key 225-share Nikkei average falling 0.59 percent, or 84.01 points, to 14,110.28 at the start of trade. Australian shares were also lower. Analysts expected muted reaction in the region, saying Asian markets would probably wait for a lead from U.S. trading, especially given uncertainty over whether Clinton will now be put on trial in the Senate and how drawn out such proceedings would be. They said the U.S. dollar could bear the brunt of any selling by foreign investors, but added the currency's recent weakness suggested the market had anticipated Saturday's impeachment vote. ''The (impeachment) news itself was not surprising and is unlikely to spur fresh dollar sales,'' said a dealer at a city bank in Tokyo. ''But Clinton's impeachment will hang over the dollar like a dark cloud until the Senate trial begins.'' Clifford Bennett, market strategist at BNP Australia, told Reuters Television that most of the downside from the impeachment process appeared to have been discounted. But he added that the market remained cautious. ''It remains a touch uncertain, but overall we still expect Clinton will survive in the long term,'' Bennett said. Bennett added that there might in fact be some dollar buying opportunities. ''With dollar/yen having most of the impeachment negativity priced in, you could see dollar/yen drifting higher into the end of the year,'' he said. Dealers in Tokyo said they expected the dollar to be supported at around 115 yen, with steady buying to emerge below that level, but added that the market would be looking to the United States for clues. ''Dealers are unsure how to react,'' said a dealer at a Japanese trust bank. "They will be looking to how U.S. stocks take the news. Japanese stockbrokers said they expected light trading as overseas markets began their year-end holidays, and said the thin volume would make the market vulnerable to any large-lot sales, especially given fears that Clinton's impeachment could hurt Wall Street later in the day. ''We are worried that the news will place downward pressure on New York stocks,'' said Masaaki Higashida, deputy general manager at Nomura Securities. Clinton, who has resisted calls to resign, is expected to survive a Senate trial on whether he should be removed from office. So long as public opinion continued to back Clinton, it appeared unlikely that enough Democrats would cross the floor to give the two-thirds majority required for a conviction. In fact, the latest NBC poll conducted over the weekend showed the president's approval rating climbed to 72 percent from 68 percent before the impeachment vote. Any Senate trial could be as short as a few weeks, but Democrats are expected to continue to seek a deal that could a avoid a trial altogether. In early Asian trading, South Korean stocks soared more than four percent after Moody's Investors Service said on Saturday it would review South Korea's foreign currency ratings for possible upgrade. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.46 percent, or 23.39 points, to 548.24 in the first five minutes of trading. Sydney's All Ordinaries Index shed 0.69 percent to 2,730.5, led down in quiet trade by a sharply weaker futures market, poor commodities prices, and concern over U.S. markets' response to the impeachment. The Australian dollar was little changed at US$0.6189/94 at 2255 GMT compared with $0.6194/99 here late on Friday.