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Asian stock markets close
largely mixed |
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April 4, 2000 HONG KONG, APR 3 (UNB/AP) - Asian stock markets closed generally mixed Monday, with Hong Kong's key index plunging and Tokyo's rising sharply. In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 513.61 points, or 3 percent, to close at 16,892.93. On Friday, the index had slipped 60.61 points, or 0.4 percent. Brokers said investors were concerned about a further correction on Wall Street and a possible slump in the Nasdaq market after U.S. software giant Microsoft failed to settle an antitrust lawsuit with U.S. government lawyers. "People are jittery about the Nasdaq market in the coming two sessions and are reluctant to open new positions," said Andrew Chak, senior investment analyst at Dao Heng Securities. The Japanese benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 389.67 points, or 1.92 percent, to close at 20,726.99, its highest since Dec. 10, 1996, when the Nikkei closed at 20,822.12. On Friday, the average closed down 104.18 points, or 0.5 percent. Prices rose on buying by pension funds after the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey for March said sentiment among large manufacturers had brightened from the last survey in December. News that Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke and would be incapacitated for an undetermined length of time had a limited impact on the stock market, traders said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki, serving as acting prime minister, told a news conference after the market closed that Obuchi was in a coma and on an artificial respirator. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 104.86 yen, down 0.42 yen from its level of 105.28 yen on Friday but higher than its late New York level of 102.64 yen, also on Friday. Share prices in Singapore also closed sharply lower, pushed down by falling telecommunication and technology stocks. The Straits Times Index fell 60.91 points, or 2.9 percent, to 2,071.68. The market in Taiwan was closed for a holiday. Other markets : WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed sharply higher, boosted by gains in Fletcher Challenge Ltd. following the possible spin-off of the group's paper division. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index rose 43.05 points, or 2.1 percent, to 2,097.10, its largest rise since Feb. 16. JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed lower as foreign investors sold stocks amid growing concerns over the International Monetary Fund's delay of a U.S. dlr 400 million loan to Indonesia. The Composite Index fell 12.375 points, or 2.1 percent, to 570.901. MANILA: Philippine stocks ended mixed as bargain hunters pushed blue chips higher but many other shares declined on negative sentiment toward the market. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 6.60 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,688.32. SYDNEY: Australia's revamped stock market index finished higher as investors snapped up resources, banks and media stocks. The All Ordinaries index, which has doubled in size to 500 stocks, rose 49.9 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,183.2. SEOUL: Share prices closed lower on local institutional selling. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 14.50 points, or 1.7 percent, to 846.44. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed mostly lower on profit-taking. The Composite Index fell 8.97 points, or 0.9 percent, to 965.41. BANGKOK: Thai share prices ended little changed. The Composite Index slipped 0.58 point to 399.74.
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