Shares mostly higher on major exchanges

HONG KONG (Agencies): Share prices mostly increased on major world exchanges yesterday.

In Hong Kong, stocks dipped slightly in opening trading after U.S. President Bill Clinton's decision to renew China's most favored nation (MFN) trade status.

In the first half-hour of trading, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index was off 47.75 points or one-half of a percentage point, at 9,433.96.

Hong Kong's economy would have been hard hit if MFN had been revoked, but brokers said the renewal of China's trading privileges had been widely expected.

In Tokyo, share prices opened higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average at 20,545.21 points in the first 15 minutes of trading, up 49.41 points or 0.2 percent from the previous day's finish.

In Taipei, dealers said that the Taipei bourse dropped in dull trading after the move to renew China's trade privileges, with shares easing across the board.

Eroding the previous trading's 77.18-point jump, the benchmark 374-issue weighted price index fell 45.59 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 5,806.77 points.

In Singapore, investors largely ignored the renewal of China's MFN status.

The 30-stock blue chip Straits Times Industrials index rose 8.75 points to close at 2,323.95 points while the broader-based SES All-Singapore index added 3.78 points to 573.36 points.

In Bangkok, the Stock Exchange of Thailand index rose for the 10th straight day, shooting up 27.55 points or 2.03 percent to a close of 1,383.57.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index ended 3.06 points higher despite profit-taking that trimmed early gains.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange 85-stock weighted composite index ended at 1,000.11, up from Thursday's closing of 997.05.

In Sydney, the key market barometer, the all ordinaries index, rose to 2,102.2 points yesterday, up 5.3 points or 0.25 percent from Thursday's finish.

In London, share prices were mainly stable in early trading yesterday as the market showed a cautious recovery before a long weekend which will see markets closed in Britain and the U.S. until Tuesday morning of the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

By mid morning in London, the FT-SE 100 index had risen by 4.7 points to 3,1024.4 points.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index rose by 0.38 percent to 2,099.89 points.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended on Thursday 1.84 points lower at 3,753.46. But in the broader market advancing issues led declines 1,172 to 897 on trading of 254 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The Nasdaq index was off 0.43 to 731.64.