Asian stock markets higher in line with Wall Street
Asian stock markets higher in line with Wall Street
HONG KONG (REUTER): Asian markets were mostly higher yesterday
following a rise in the dollar and Wall Street overnight, brokers
said.
Hong Kong stocks were the major gainers with the blue-chip
Hang Seng Index surging 97.42 points, or 1.05 percent, to close
at 9,336.11.
Brokers said the rise was due mainly to bargain-hunting by
domestic investors, with some buying by Japanese funds.
Sentiment in Australia was also cheered by Wall Street's rise,
helping the All Ordinaries gain 16.6 points to 2,077.8.
The All Resources sub-index, comprising commodity-based
stocks, soared 1.64 percent, compared with a rise of just 0.36
percent in the All Industrials index.
Stocks in Tokyo however failed to take heart from a marginal
weakening in the yen and the Nikkei average ended down 68.31
points, or 0.33 percent, at 20,443.29.
Brokers said sentiment was dampened by domestic profit-taking
and by investors cashing in stocks in readiness for the imminent
listing of Japan Tobacco Inc. and Japan Telecom Co.
Share prices in Manila, Seoul, Wellington, Singapore, Shanghai
and Sri Lanka were all higher.
The day's main loser was Bangkok, where panic selling of
finance sector stocks triggered a 2.02 percent plunge in the SET
index to 1,444.72.
Shares bounded forward in Europe, as investors decided that a
surge of new confidence on Wall Street was a buy signal that
could not be ignored.
Markets in Paris, London and Frankfurt quickly added more than
one percent, following strong rises overnight in Hong Kong,
Sydney and other Asian markets. Amsterdam and Zurich also
moved ahead strongly. The cue for the advances was a big rise in
the Dow Jones industrial average on signs that U.S. inflation was
under control and the economy was settling back to a sustainable
rate of growth. The Dow closed 70.90 points higher at 3,846.73,
its strongest one-day performance in more than four months.
In London, the main FTSE 100 index opened 1.03 percent higher
for a gain of 33 points but the advance was later trimmed to 26
points before turning higher again. The market rose 30 points on
Wednesday.
In Paris, the CAC-40 share index gained 22.91 to 2,029.20.
The 30-share DAX index in Frankfurt was up 24.11 at 2,150.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 70.90
points higher at 3,846.73, its strongest performance in over four
months. The New York Stock Exchange's collar on program trades
was activated when the Dow index gained more than 50 points. It
closed above 3,800 for the first time since June 16. But some
analysts said much of the rally's fuel came from short-covering
and they did not expect to see stocks threaten all-time highs.