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Korean stocks soar as Asia gains
staff and wire reports
HONG KONG, China -- Stocks in South Korea are posting big gains heading into Monday afternoon, with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan also up. The moves follow a strong run in U.S. stocks on Friday, the second day of gains there. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 4.2 percent on Friday, to close at 7,850.29, while Nasdaq jumped 4.1 percent. (Full story) Markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong are closed Monday, with Japan celebrating Sports Day and Hong Kong holding the Chung Yeung festival. Stocks in Indonesia are selling off and the currency, the rupiah, is weakening following bomb blasts on the resort island of Bali over the weekend. The Jakarta Stock Exchange index is down 7.79 percent at 347.152, its lowest point of the year, by late morning. Other Southeast Asian markets are also selling off, with Malaysia down 1.14 percent and Thailand off 0.1 percent. But the Bali blasts, which killed at least 187 late on Saturday, are having only a localized effect. Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.82 percent at 1,385.00 in early afternoon trade. Korea big caps racingSouth Korea's main index, the Kospi, is up a heady 4.06 percent shortly after noon, at 611.37.
Hyundai Motor, the largest Korean car company, is racing ahead 6.47 percent to 27,150 won. It said Monday it has won approval for a joint venture in China with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding. (Full story) Other big caps are also showing strong increases. Chipmaker Samsung Electronics is up 5.30 percent at 288,000 won. Cell-phone company SK Telecom is showing a solid 1.96 percent rise to 234,500 won. Steelmaker POSCO is up 1.9 percent at 107,000 won ahead of its third-quarter earnings later on Monday. The small-cap, tech-focused Kosdaq is up 4.99 percent at 45.85 after closing at its lowest-ever level on Friday. Australia moving off lowsAustralia's main S&P/ASX 200 index is up 0.94 percent at 2,952.0 in early afternoon. The two-year-old index sank to its lowest-ever close last week. News Corp. was ahead 3.3 percent at A$9.47 as afternoon trading started, with the company's interest in satellite broadcaster DirecTV rekindled. Bank stocks are up after declines last week, with National Australia Bank rising 1.2 percent to A$31.98. Resources companies are also moving ahead, BHP Billiton up 2.8 percent to A$7.40 and Rio Tinto up 2.7 percent to A$30.84. AurionGold is ahead 4.2 percent to A$3.00 after its board changed tack and recommended that shareholders accept a takeover from Canada-based Placer Dome. Qantas Airways was down 1.9 percent at A$3.60 at noon, driven down by the likely impact on business if tourism to Bali and elsewhere in Asia drops off. Many of the victims of the bombs were from Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand's Top 40 is up 0.61 percent at 2,004.29 in afternoon trade. Telecom New Zealand is up 1 percent at NZ$5.11. Chips up in TaiwanIn Taiwan, the Taiex is up 1.24 percent at 3,897.93 in early afternoon. Chip stocks were running up after Nasdaq's gains from Friday. TSMC is leading the volume, up 5.6 percent to T$37.70. UMC is second on the volume charts, up 4.9 percent to T$21.30. China Airlines and EVA Airways are unchanged, investors not factoring in any effect from the Bali blasts. Singapore's Straits Times is showing little fallout from the bombings, which authorities say were terrorist attacks. Bank stocks are driving the market ahead. But Singapore Airlines is down 1.0 percent to S$120.20, having fallen more than 3 percent at the open.
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