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Most Asian stock markets close lower |
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August 9, 2000
HONG KONG (AP) - Most Asian stock markets closed lower Tuesday, pushed down largely by profit-taking. In Hong Kong, stocks tumbled on the last trading day for Cable and Wireless HKT, Hong Kong's biggest phone company, which is merging with a local Internet group. The Hang Seng Index, the Hong Kong market's key indicator of blue chips, fell 515.14 points, or 2.9 percent, closing at 17,211.84, its biggest one-day drop since April 17 when the index fell 1,380 points. Trading in shares of Cable and Wireless were to be suspended on Wednesday pending completion of its merger with Pacific Century CyberWorks on Aug. 17. There was heavy selling of Cable and Wireless stock because shareholders will not receive their Pacific Century CyberWorks shares until Aug. 21, which means that they will not be able to react to market movements for two weeks. Pacific Century CyberWorks is owned by Richard Li, son of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. The Japanese benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 182.60 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 15,820.11. On Monday, the average closed up 335.35 points, or 2.14 percent. The Nikkei index opened slightly higher with investors cheered by rallies on Wall Street. But it soon moved into negative territory on profit-taking. Bank and auto issues were among the biggest decliners. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 99.26 points to 10,867.01 at Monday's close. The Nasdaq composite index gained 75.63 points to end at 3,862.99. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 108.62 yen, down 0.10 yen from late Monday in Tokyo and also below its late New York level of 109.06 yen overnight. Bucking the trend was the Stock Exchange of Thailand, where the key index surged 3.7 percent on buying mainly in banking and finance stocks, traders said. The Bangkok exchange's Composite Index rose 11.43 points to 318.15. Elsewhere: WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed slightly lower. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index fell 1.46 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,138.43. MANILA: Philippine shares closed lower in light trading as investors cashed in on recent gains. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 11.36 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,438.74. SYDNEY: The Australian share market closed slightly lower. The All Ordinaries Index fell 2.8 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,262.4. SEOUL: Share prices closed lower on selling by local institutions. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.51 points, or 1.4 percent, to 666.08. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares closed higher on buying by local funds following the guilty verdict on deposed former prime minister Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy earlier in the day, dealers said. The benchmark Composite Index rose 1.4 percent, or 11.26 points, to 825.52. SINGAPORE: Share prices closed lower, led by declines in banking and electronic stocks. The Straits Times Index fell 14.30 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,045.02. TAIPEI: Taiwan shares closed higher as investors snapped up technology stocks following a rally overnight on the U.S. Nasdaq market. The Weighted Price Stock Index rose 81.79 points, or 1.1 percent, to 7,797.78. JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed lower as foreign-led selling in select blue chips pushed prices down. The Composite Index fell 1.1 percent, or 5.464 points, to 485.080.
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