Asian markets end higher, JSX slips 4%
Asian markets end higher, JSX slips 4%
HONG KONG (AP): Most Asian stock markets closed higher Monday
on the back of last week's surge on Wall Street as fears eased
about another rise in U.S. interest rates.
Bucking the trend was the Jakarta Stock Exchange, where the
key index slumped more than 4 percent because of mounting
violence in East Timor.
In Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Index rose 206.85 points, or
1.6 percent, closing at 13,385.16. On Friday, the index had lost
189.25 points, or 1.4 percent.
Brokers said the Hong Kong market was boosted by the strong
performance on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial
average surged 235.24 points to close at 11,078.45, a rise of 2.2
percent.
The Nasdaq rose 108.34 to 2,842.58, surpassing the previous
high for a one-day point gain, 103.16, set on June 16.
U.S. Stocks surged after the Labor Department reported that
employers added 124,000 jobs to their payrolls in August, fewer
than most economists had expected. The figures eased about rising
inflation.
The Japanese benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose
126.52 points, or 0.72 percent, to end the day's trade at
17,756.51. On Friday, the average closed down 1.26 points, or
0.01 percent.
Traders in Tokyo said investors were also awaiting the release
of Japan's April-June gross domestic product data on Friday.
"If there's a serious shrinkage in GDP, Japan's second
supplementary budget will expand," and that will help stocks,
said Tsuyosi Nomaguchi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities. He
added he doesn't expect the data to be very bad.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 109.62 yen
late Monday, down 0.12 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and below
its late New York level of 110.05 yen on Friday.
South Korean shares closed sharply higher on the back of Wall
Street's gains. The main Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose
32.60 points, or 3.6 percent, to 943.22.
In Taipei, share prices closed higher, boosted by the rise in
technology stocks. The market's key Weighted Stock Price Index
rose 65.17 points, or 0.8 percent, to 8,130.28.
In Wellington, New Zealand share prices closed higher in line
with regional markets. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index rose
11.56 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,150.32.
In Manila, Philippine shares closed higher on a sharply lower-
than-expected local inflation rate for August and on Wall
Street's strong gains over the weekend. The 30-company Philippine
Stock Exchange Index rose 13.38 points, or 0.6 percent, to
2,168.47.
In Sydney, Australian share prices closed higher across most
sectors on Friday's strong gains in the United States and some
renewed buying after the market had succumbed to profit-taking
for most of last week. The All Ordinaries Index closed at 2990.1,
up 27.7 points, or 0.9 percent.
In Singapore, share prices closed mixed. The benchmark Straits
Times Index rose 6.6 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,099.78.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian share prices closed higher on
bargain-hunting. The Composite Index, which tracks 100 blue-chip
stocks, rose 7.46 percent, or 1.0 percent, to 752.78.
In Bangkok, Thai stock prices closed lower. The Stock Exchange
of Thailand index fell 7.04 points, or 1.63 percent, to 424.08.