S'pore stocks lead on bullish day

S'pore stocks lead on bullish day

SINGAPORE (AFP): After a bullish performance on most Asian bourses yesterday, Singapore shares closed at their highest level of the year while Tokyo neared a similar record.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Industrials index of leading issues on the Stock Exchange of Singapore gained 29.74 points to 2,256.91, surpassing its previous 1995 record of 2,246.25 reached on Jan. 3.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average of 225 select issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 204.66 points to end the session at 19,653.25, the second highest closing this year after 19,684.04 scored on Jan. 4.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite index gained 3.64 points to close at 1,000.66.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 29.75 points to finish at a five-day high of 9,907.61.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 52.15 points to close at 2,561.78.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand index lost 2.06 points to close at 1,273.39 points.

In Taipei, the weighted price index advanced 129.01 points to 5, 093.85.

In Seoul, the composite price index rose 7.8 points to close out at 899.84.

The Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the all ordinaries index, rose 4.3 points to 2,203.8.

The Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100 leading British shares had risen 11.4 points to 3,625.1.

In Paris, the CAC-40 share index dropped 18.17 to 1,813.03.

The 30-share DAX index in Frankfurt was up 2.19 at 2,264.26.