Share prices strenghten on most Asian exchanges

TOKYO (Agencies): Share prices gained ground on the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday, heartened by a weaker yen and brighter prospects of a solution to the Korean nuclear standoff.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average closed 135.83 points or 0.6 percent higher at 21,503.30 for its first finish above the 21,500 mark since February 1992. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section rose 7.0 points to 1,705.53.

Turnover on the major board was an estimated 500 million shares, against 381.26 million shares the previous session.

The Nikkei average bobbed around 21,500 after a firm start as some dealers sold holdings to adjust their positions ahead of the weekend, brokers said. A late plunge in bond prices also blunted the market's early gains.

In Hong Kong, Hong Kong stock prices rose one percent in cautious trading with the key Hang Seng Index gaining 91.04 points to close the week's trading at 9,113.96.

Turnover totaled HK$3.137 billion (US$402 million), up from the previous day's HK$2.835 billion.

In Taipei, following the previous session's 34.58-point advance, the 374-issue weighted price index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange put on 10.1 points or 0.16 percent to settle at 6,159.74 points.

Turnover slid to 1,204 million shares valued at T$68.66 billion ($2.54 billion US) compared with 1,573 million shares worth T$96 billion.

In Singapore, The blue-chip Straits Times Industrials index rose 18.89 points to close provisionally at 2,306.23.

In Bangkok,the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index, fighting mixed feelings over the local political turmoil, rose 6.09 points, or 0.45 percent, active trading to close at 1,370.53, one broker said.

Trading was more than double that of the previous day, with 141.09 million shares worth 14.08 billion baht (563.2 million dollars) changing hands.

Advances outnumbered declines 164 to 133, with 91 issues closing unchanged.

In Sydney, The key All Ordinaries Index closed at 2,051.2 points, 4.8 points down on Thursday's finish. The All Industrials Index fell 1.9 points to 2,993.7 and the All Resources Index dropped 7.2 points to 1,344.2.

National turnover totaled 197.6 million shares worth A$471.3 million ($344 million), falls outnumbering rises four to three.

In London, the blue-chip Financial Times Stock Exchange 100- share index was at 3,040.4 points, up 10.5 points near midmorning. The narrower Financial Times 30 index was at 2,387.5 points, up 4.2 points.

Volume was moderate with 160.2 million shares traded near midmorning, up from 123.9 million shares at the same time on Thursday.

In New York, the Dow Jones index of 30 industrials picked up 20.93 points to close at 3,811.34.

On the broader New York Stock Exchange, some 256 million shares changed hands, with advancing shares outnumbering losers 1,153 to 946, and 732 unchanged.