Monetary crisis still haunts Malaysian shares

Monetary crisis still haunts Malaysian shares

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Asia-Pacific share prices ended mixed
yesterday as currency turmoil continued to dog Southeast Asian
markets and dampen sentiment elsewhere.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's key index tumbled 3 percent
on renewed concerns over the economy and a weak ringgit, while
Manila share prices fell 3.1 percent on political uncertainty and
a weakening peso.

Tokyo was the biggest gainer among regional bourses yesterday,
rising 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong resumed trading after a
holiday the previous day, ending slightly higher.

In Kuala Lumpur, a dealer with a local brokerage said: "There
was a new wave of foreign selling due to renewed concerns over
the economy and the ringgit. Investors for the major part were
sidelined ahead of the budget next month."

The KLSE-100 fell 24.44 points to 786.68, breaching the
psychological 800-point level, while the lesser second board
index eased 6.25 points, or 1. 5 percent, to 410.54.

In Hong Kong, share prices rose slightly on late selective
buying in post-holiday trading in the absence of fresh leads,
dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index gained a mere 8.26 points, or 0.06
percent, to finish at 14,419.45.

In Tokyo, Japanese share prices closed 1.4 percent higher,
supported by bargain-hunting and purchases from pension funds,
brokers said.

The key Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose
246.82 points to end the session at 17,930.09, near its high of
17,981.50 touched near the close.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues was up 11.
12 to close at 1,385.09.

In Singapore, blue-chip stocks ended 0.7 percent lower as the
market was affected by bearish sentiment prevailing in
neighboring Malaysia.

The Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip benchmark, the
Straits Times Industrial index, dipped 14.15 points, to 1,896.09.
The broader All-Singapore index fell 4.12 points to 458.06.

Sydney, Australian share prices gained 0.6 percent with
investors showing strong support for the banking sector, brokers
said.

The Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the all
ordinaries index, closed 17 points higher at 2,696.3. The all
industrials index rose 47.2 points to 4,442.6 points while the
all resources index shed 9.1 points to 1, 321.2.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices closed up 0.8 percent on
speculative buying, finding support from International Monetary
Fund (IMF) managing director Michel Camdessus' comments and a
stronger baht, dealers said.

The key composite Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index was
up 4.25 points at 521.65, while the selected SET 50 index
finished up 0.51 points at 38.68.

In Manila, Philippine share prices plummeted 3.1 percent as
fears over political uncertainty were compounded by a sell-off on
news that a local consumer electronics firm had defaulted on bank
loans.

"Investors fear there could be more companies filing for
bankruptcies amid the worsening currency crisis," Paribas Asia
Equity analyst Ed Bancod said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 64.11 points to
2,009.85.

In Seoul, share prices closed 0.2 percent higher on the Korea
Stock Exchange as the market lost its earlier gains on
institutional and foreign selling in cyclical large-capital
shares towards the close, dealers said.

The composite index closed up 1.65 points at 701.39.

In Shanghai, the B shares, nominally reserved for foreign
investors, fell 2.2 percent affected by low gains in Hong Kong
and the close of the Communist Party congress, analysts said.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange's B share index dropped 1.8 points
to close at 80.92 points. The A share index of domestically-
traded shares rose 6.02 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at
1,223.15 points.

In Taipei, the Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index
moved up 53.78 points to 9, 141.33.

In Auckland, the New Zealand shares market closed 0.6 percent
higher after late selling canceled early gains following a
positive Reserve Bank outlook report, analysts said.

The Reserve Bank "basically came out and said they would
sanction the current easing (in monetary conditions)," said Tim
Koller at Merrill Lynch.

The NZSE-40 capital index closed 14.77 points higher at
2,553.75.