SE Asian stock markets battered

SE Asian stock markets battered

TOKYO (AFP): Southeast Asian markets took a beating yesterday as investors withdrew support amid uncertainty over regional currencies and the release of poor economic data.

In Tokyo, Japanese share prices edged up, with short-covering in high-technology issues reviving buying interest in early trade, brokers said.

The Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 9.51 points to finish the session at 18,451.45, but the broader Topix index of all shares on the first section closed 4.68 points lower at 1,438.10.

In Hong Kong, stocks closed 4.2 percent down, suffering the fifth biggest points drop in the territory's history, amid turbulence in stocks and currencies around Southeast Asia and rumors of a hike in local interest rates.

The Hang Seng Index, the key barometer of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong plunged 657.85 points to 14,876.10 points.

In Sydney, the exchange's main indicator, the all ordinaries index, rose 4.8 points to 2,631.3.

The all industrials index rose 11.1 points to 4,235.4 while the all resources index slipped 0.6 points to 1,380.4.

In Singapore, blue-chip share prices closed 3.6 percent down to a four-year low.

The Straits Times Industrials index of leading shares on the Stock Exchange of Singapore fell 69.34 points to 1,846.62, the lowest level since late 1993. The broader All-Singapore index gave up 17.55 points to 460.16.

In Kuala Lumpur, the key stock index plummeted 4.2 percent choked by a surprise move to impose trade restrictions on the 100 component stocks of the composite index.

Th 100-share weighted composite index tumbled 35.74 points to end at 812.18, after breaching a 800-points psychological support level, established after the 1993 bull run, to touch 777.46.

In Manila, Philippine share prices fell 9.3 percent in the biggest single-day plunge which was attributed to the release of disappointing economic figures for the first half of the year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 212.06 points to 2,071.97 points.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices dropped 2.3 percent on foreign selling of bank shares following the central bank's announcement of economic data and a weakening of the baht, analysts said.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) broad-based index declined 11.98 points to 511.76 points, while the SET-50 select was off 1.11 points at 36.84 points.

In Shanghai, the B share index dropped 3.74 points to close at 86.61 points. The A share index of domestically-traded shares rose 18.2 points, or 1.5 percent to close at 1,265.38 points.

In Taipei, the weighted price index slid 223.18 points to 9,827. 49.

In Auckland, the NZSE-40 capital index was up 14.36 points at 2,487.89.

In London, the FT-SE 100 index of leading shares was showing a loss of 10.8 points at 4,896.1. in early trade.

In Paris, the CAC-40 index opened 23.82 points higher at 2,895.52.