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Asian stocks advance again
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks held their ground on Thursday afternoon to close on gains, despite Wall Street losing its way. Tokyo's Nikkei average briefly rose above 9,000 for the first time since October 4. But it settled in the afternoon session, ending up 0.84 percent to 8,959.88. The broader Topix index was only slightly in the black, up 0.34 percent at 884.46 as some bank stocks sold off ahead of a bailout. Taiwan and South Korea both gained just over 1.3 percent, with Hong Kong up 1.2 percent. Singapore enjoyed a late spurt to post the strongest gains in the region. Australia and New Zealand were the laggards of the Asia Pacific, both markets feeling the effects of Wall Street's slump. Advantest shakes Intel effectIn New York on Wednesday, stocks fell for the first time in five days. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.66 percent, with Nasdaq down 3.9 percent. (U.S. roundup) Wall Street is processing a stream of third-quarter earnings, with Ford and Coca-Cola warning on the rest of the year. (Coke goes flat) It was a different story in Tokyo, where stocks were up for a fourth straight day. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest rebounded 2.46 percent to 4,170 yen, a day after selling off on disappointing numbers from Intel. Other techs were taking their lead from encouraging words on the fourth quarter from Advanced Micro Devices. (Full story) Chip and computer maker NEC put on 1.02 percent to 495 yen, with Resona Holdings up 2.63 percent to 78 yen. Car companies brush by FordThere were other encouraging signs on Wall Street, as IBM beat the street after the bell. (IBM beats Street) That kind of optimism in a major market moved Sony Corp. ahead 1.51 percent to 5,370 yen.
But the market's largest listing, NTT DoCoMo, was down 2.48 percent to 236,000 yen. Car companies took their lead from GM's positive outlook this week rather than disappointing earnings from Ford. (Full story) Mitsubishi Motor rose 2.95 percent to 244 yen, with Toyota up 0.64 percent and Honda ahead 0.60 percent. Retailer Daiei, due to report earnings Friday, added another 7.19 percent to 149 yen, ahead of a fresh bailout plan announced after the close. The state-run Development Bank of Japan will inject 10 billion yen ($80.3 million) into a fund to help it restructure. (Full story) But most of Daiei's main creditors fell, UFJ Holdings down 1.1 percent to 180,000 yen. Nobel boost to ShimadzuEquipment maker Shimadzu Corp. saw the heaviest volume, rising 8.39 percent to 349 yen. The company has risen 34 percent since employee Koichi Tanaka won the Nobel prize in chemistry last week. Nippon Steel fell 4.58 percent to 146 yen as Japan's big steelmakers agreed to curb exports to China, to appease the government. (Full story) The yen is trading steady at 124.25 in early London trade. But a senior official played down its four-month weak point of 125.02 set Wednesday. Haruhiko Kuroda, Japans vice finance minister for international affairs, said the move is "a natural, correctional process after an excessive yen rise," according to Reuters news agency. The Indonesian rupiah is also steady at 9,205 to the U.S. dollar, though the Jakarta stock exchange ended down 0.64 percent. Taiwan screen makers upTaiwan and South Korea locked in almost identical gains, with investors looking for the U.S. rally to continue after Wednesday's blip. Taiwan's Taiex moved forward 1.36 percent to 4,280.81, like Tokyo a fourth straight day of gains. But the pace did not match the past two days, which saw a series of "limit up" leaps. On Thursday, only China Airlines achieved that feat, closing up 7 percent at T$12.35. Flat-screen maker Au Optronics continued to be the market's darling, up 3.3 percent to T$18.80 and topped the volume. Its rival Chunghwa Picture Tubes, or CPT, was second with a 3.02 percent run to T$11.95. Quanta Computer, which makes notebook computers for IBM, added 1.54 percent to T$66.00. Chip foundry TSMC inched forward 0.23 percent to T$43.50, while rival UMC fell 0.41 percent to T$24.10. Kospi carries on for fifth dayKorea's Kospi index added 1.32 percent to 644.66, its fifth day in a row of rising. The gains were broader based than in Taiwan, with brokerages such as Samsung Securities, up 7 percent, and LG Securities, up 12.6 percent, doing well.
AMD's rosy outlook and an upbeat forecast on chip production from the Korean commerce ministry boosted the chipmakers. Samsung Electronics closed up 0.82 percent at 307,500 won, with volatile Hynix Semiconductor ahead the daily 15 percent limit to 400 won. LG Electronics advanced 2.8 percent to 34,350 won as it reported a profit for the third quarter, up from a loss last year. (Full story) Retailer Shinsegae was up again after winning approval for a joint venture in China, moving ahead 2.62 percent to T$137,500 won. South Korea said Thursday its jobless rate has hit a seven-month low, with jobs coming especially in retail and construction. (Full story). Australia slightly depressedIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.13 percent, near flat at 2,989.8. Banks gave way after gains this week, NAB ending down 1.56 percent at A$32.17. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. rose 2.2 percent to A$10.03, but Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting ended down 2.4 percent at A$7.32. Airline Qantas fell 0.27 percent to A$3.75 as it held its annual meeting in Perth. New Zealand's Top 40 fell 0.23 percent to 1,989.67 , with Air New Zealand off 7.7 percent to NZ$0.48. The company may not make it into a revamped Top 50 index because it is 82 percent owned by the government. The New Zealand Stock Exchange has proposed only including freely traded shares. Telecom New Zealand was unchanged at NZ$5.07. But the market's second largest listing, woods products company Carter Holt Harvey, rose 0.63 percent to NZ$1.60 after earnings on Wednesday. Hong Kong up on propertyHong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 1.24 percent at 9,576.15 as property stocks lifted. Hysan Development led the way with a 4.2 percent jump to HK$6.20. Conglomerate and developer Swire was another strong performer, up 4.13 percent to HK$32.80. Li Ka-shing's property interest and flagship Cheung Kong Holdings climbed 2.53 percent to HK$50.75, while affiliated ports and telecom group Hutchison Whampoa rose 3.3 percent to HK$46.90. Airlines China Southern and China Eastern advanced as China formally launched its three reorganized airlines, to consolidate the industry. Singapore's Straits Times index ended up 1.87 percent at 1,466.02, with AMD and IBM giving the Lion City's techs a boost. Chartered Semiconductor closed up 4.2 percent at S$1.00.
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