Big Asian stock markets up

Big Asian stock markets up

HONG KONG (AP): Asia's top three stock markets - Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore - finished higher Wednesday, although most smaller markets in the region fell.

In Tokyo, investors bid up the key stock index to a three-year high, betting the worst may be over in Japan's economic slump.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 310.69 points, or 1.5 percent, to 20,833.21. That was the Nikkei's highest close since Dec. 5, 1996, when it finished at 20,943.90.

Steelmakers and chemical companies led the gains amid signs that things might soon be getting better for domestic industries hit hardest by Japan's deepest economic downturn in decades.

Hong Kong share prices got a boost from news of an alliance between local Internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks and Australian phone giant Telstra Corp.

The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 89.43 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 16,577.09.

Shares rose as news dribbled out about the deal, in which Telstra will invest US$3 billion into Pacific Century CyberWorks and a joint mobile phone venture.

In Jakarta, Indonesian shares fell on continued selling in tobacco and telecommunications blue chips. The Composite Index ended down 5.003 points, or 0.9 percent, at 564.737.

In Singapore, shares ended marginally higher, led by strong buying in smaller stocks. The benchmark Straits Times Index rose 4.01 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,135.39.

In Bangkok, shares soared 3.4 percent, as investors snapped up banking, chemical, and energy shares. The SET index gained 13.71 points, or 3.4 percent, to 414.45.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian share prices ended slightly higher, boosted by gains in Telekom Malaysia. The Composite Index of 100 blue-chip stocks rose 7.03 points, or 0.8 percent, at 940.60.

In Manila, Philippine stocks fell as investors continued to cash in on recent gains. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index closed 12.88 points, or 0.7 percent, lower at 1,744.57.

In Seoul, share prices slid 2.1 percent on the expiration of options contracts, heavy foreign selling, and the U.S. Nasdaq composite index's overnight fall. The key Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 18.04 points to 837.01.

In Sydney, Australian shares closed lower as investors sold technology-related, media and telecommunications shares. The All Ordinaries Index fell 22.0 points, or 0.7 percent, to 3,133.4.

In Taipei, Taiwanese shares tumbled, weighed down by the continued slump on the Nasdaq. The Weighted Stock Price Index fell 156.66 points, or 1.56 percent, to 9,911.39.

In Wellington, New Zealand shares slipped, dragged down by a sharp slide in the price of market heavyweight Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index fell 16.20 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,119.02.