Tokyo and Hong Kong post modest gains

Tokyo and Hong Kong post modest gains

HONG KONG (Agencies): Tokyo and Hong Kong shares posted modest
gains yesterday Friday but several other Asian bourses moved more
dramatically.

Thailand, Taiwan, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur added more than one
percent but Seoul and Bombay were heavy losers, the Indian market
down 2.50 percent on disappointing company results.

Brokers said Tokyo trading was cautious and mostly
directionless ahead of next Wednesday's Bank of Japan "tankan"
survey of business sentiment.

The key Nikkei 225 average was up 72.77 points or 0.34 percent
to finish at 21,216.11, its highest level for the day. Aggressive
investor buying, which lifted the Nikkei average earlier this
week, withered and brokers expect range-bound trade next week,
brokers said.

In Jakarta, share prices closed 1.6 percent higher on Friday
in active trade on the back of a technical rebound of selective
heavyweight stocks and rumor-driven buying of second tier stocks
by local investors.

"The market was hectic. Some counters rebounded on technical
(reasons) but there was some crazy buying on the back of wild
rumors, including those over Barito Pacific, Matahari and Hero,"
said a dealer with a major foreign brokerage.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index rose 9.88 points at
612.86 points.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's 100-share weighted composite
index surged 12.24 points to 1,217.96. The second board fell
12.15 points, or two percent, to 610.74.

In Hong Kong, share prices rose 0.1 percent on selective
buying on conglomerates with rental office properties, dealers
said.

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index gained
17.23 points to finish at 13,116.79.

In Singapore, blue-chip share prices closed marginally lower
on mild profit-taking as institutional investors stayed on the
sidelines ahead of the weekend.

The Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip barometer, the
Straits Times Industrials index, ended 2.94 points, or 0.1
percent, lower at 2,194.75 as it continued to meet resistance at
the 2,200-point level.

In Thailand, the SET Index closed 14.95 points up, or 1.56
percent, to 970.30.

Taiwan's weighted index closed 68.90 points higher at
6,761.39, its highest finish since January 11, 1995.

Bombay, the benchmark stocks index dropped 75.83 points to a
provisional close of 2967.47.

In London, the Financial Times-Stock Exchange index of 100
leading British shares was up 20.4 points at 3,974.2.

In Paris, the CAC-40 share index was down 4.48 points at
2,229.09.

In New York, stocks edged lower Thursday as investors took
profits, bonds fell and the dollar ended mixed.

After setting November's 10th record high on Wednesday, the
Dow Jones industrial average slipped 11.55 points to 6,418.47. In
the broader market, advancing issues edged declines, 1,198 to
1,195, on heavy volume of about 468.7 million shares on the New
York Stock Exchange.