Massive quake affects Japanese share prices

Massive quake affects Japanese share prices

TOKYO (Agencies): Japanese share prices fell 0.5 percent yesterday after a massive earthquake devastated the western industrial cities of Osaka and Kobe.

The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues lost 89.85 points to end at 19,241.32, while the broader Topix index of all shares listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 8.59 points lower at 1,503.20.

"Selling among non-life insurers following the earthquake unsettled the market, as selling here quickly spilled over into the broad front of financial issues," one broker said.

But shares of construction companies and related issues gained ground following the pre-dawn quake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and left more than 600 people dead.

In Singapore, the Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue chip barometer Straits Times Industrials (STI) shed 1.35 points to 2,106.04 yesterday from 2,107.39 a day earlier.

The broader All-Singapore index closed 2.11 points higher to 512.04.

In Hong Kong, stock prices jumped 1.36 percent yesterday. The Hang Seng Index, the key barometer of top shares, gained 102.27 points to close at a week-high of 7,606.51.

In Sydney, the Australian share market closed fractionally firmer. The key all ordinaries index ended 1.5 points higher at 1,880.6 after briefly falling to 1,877.8 in the afternoon session.

The all industrials index finished 0.3 points lower at 2,733.6, while the all resources closed 3.0 points up at 1,242.1.

In London, share prices edged lower in early trading yesterday, ignoring suggestions that rises in US and British interest rates could be further away than expected, dealers said.

The FT-SE 100 index of leading shares was down by 6.2 points at 3,070.5, after opening 7.2 points higher.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 23.88 points at 3,932.34 on Monday after Friday's surge of nearly 50 points.

The index now stands less than 47 points short of its record closing high of 3,978.36, reached on Jan. 31, 1994.