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Tokyo leads Asia's tech surge
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Strong gains in Japan led an Asia-wide rally Thursday, with virtually every market closing in positive territory. Japan's tech-driven Nikkei 225 average surged a massive 3.39 percent to 9,176.78, an eight-week high and the first time in three weeks it has closed above 9,000. The broader Topix index rose 2.17 percent to 888.12, helped by solid gains among a broad mix of banks, carmakers, industrials and techs. Mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo, Tokyo's biggest stock, jumped 6.33 percent to 252,000 yen and parent NTT rose 6.36 percent to 485,000 yen Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong closed up sharply, with the Hang Seng gaining just over 2 percent. Australia put on 1.27 percent, South Korea rose 0.91 percent and New Zealand added a modest 0.15 percent. Singapore ended up just over half a percent, giving up some of its strength at the close. Still, only Taiwan finished in the red, slipping 0.44 percent after early gains. Wall Street stormed ahead Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 2.94 percent to 8,931.68. Techs in Asia got a boost from Nasdaq's 3.01 percent jump to its highest since June. (U.S. roundup) Investors will have little to go from in the United States for the rest of the week, with stocks closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and many traders taking a long weekend. Chip gains in TokyoWith the latest figures suggesting Japan's top trading partner, the United States, may have put the worst of its economic slide behind it, chips and other techs surged. Fujitsu jumped 9.35 percent to 421 yen, NEC rose 7.08 percent to 499 yen and Hitachi added 6.45 percent to 495 yen.
Kyocera firmed 6.7 percent to 8,150 yen and consumer electronics leader Sony, which gets a third of its sales in the United States, rose 2.06 percent to 5,450 yen. Chip-equipment maker Advantest, which relies on overseas markets for two-thirds of its revenues, leaped 12.6 percent to 6,080 yen on Nasdaq's gains. Banks also firmed ahead of a report on the industry from Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka on Friday. (Japan readies cash for banks) Mizuho Holdings rose 5.34 percent to 138,000 yen, with UFJ Holdings ahead 3.23 percent to 128,000 yen and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group up 1.94 percent to 734,000 yen. Honda did best among the big three carmakers, up 2.64 percent. Toyota added almost 1 percent and Nissan rose 0.61 percent. Smaller producers Isuzu, Mazda and Mitsubishi all rose sharply. Among industrials, Nippon Steel added 4.2 percent to 149 yen. U.S. plays up in AustraliaIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.27 percent to 3,043.5, led by strong gains from big caps.
News Corp. led the way, up 4.87 percent to A$12.49, with big miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both seeing gains of more than 3.5 percent. Dual-listed Brambles, which was hammered last week after a profit warning, put on almost 2 percent to A$4.69. Telstra added 1.8 percent to A$4.52 after the government said Wednesday it will delay its sale of a majority stake in the telecom by at least a year. The government also cut its forecast for Australia's growth this year as a fierce drought grips the country. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed 0.15 percent higher at 1,949.01, with Telecom New Zealand up 0.42 percent to NZ$4.77 and wood products company Carter Holt Harvey up 2.42 percent to NZ$1.69. HSBC breaks downward runHong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 2.04 percent to 10,147.84, with its biggest listing HSBC breaking three days of losses. The banking giant closed up 2.53 percent to HK$91.00, a big move for the stock, as it recovered some of the ground lost over doubts with its Household International deal in the United States. Oil producer CNOOC rose 1.56 percent to HK$9.75 despite China's announcement on Wednesday that its sales were down through October this year. Telecom company PCCW surged again, up 3.3 percent to HK$1.55 as investors warm to its cost cutting efforts. Cell-phone play China Mobile rose 2.42 percent to HK$21.15. Investors will be looking to Friday's gross domestic product figures to give them more guidance on Hong Kong's struggle to recover. Seoul gets buying spurtSouth Korea's Kospi closed 0.91 percent higher at 714.54 after the government announced Thursday that industrial output rose markedly in October, supported by stronger output of chips and cars. (Full story)
Samsung Electronics rose 1.32 percent to 385,000 won, in reaction to the gains in U.S. techs. But Hynix Semiconductor lost 2.22 percent to 440 won. Another to lose ground was Hyundai Motor, dipping 2.64 percent to 33,200 won after gains earlier in the week. Steelmaker Posco rose 5.24 percent to 120,000 won. Kookmin Bank was another big gainer, up 5.46 percent to 43,450 won as domestic plays fared well. Taiwan's Taiex finished in the red at 4,612.60, off 0.44 percent, with the market wary of the appointment of Lin Chuan as finance minister. Lin, the government's chief statistician, isn't well-known in financial circles, but he has advocated an income tax on stock gains. That is hurting equities. Movements were subdued, though. The market's two largest components were mixed, with chip foundry TSMC up 1 percent to T$50.50 and smaller rival UMC down 0.4 percent to T$25.70. Chartered Semi jumpsSingapore's Straits Times index finished up 0.65 percent to 1,404.04, chip contractor Chartered Semiconductor again heading the gains with an eye-catching 22.45 percent leap to S$1.20. It announced a partnership with IBM on Wednesday to share manufacturing, aimed at cutting costs. (Full story) Creative Technology also gained, putting on 2.08 percent to S$14.70. Malaysia's Genting group rose 1.54 percent to M$13.20 after its 85-year-old founder, billionaire Lim Goh Tong, stepped down Wednesday as chief executive of the gaming company and its subsidiary Resorts World. (Full story)
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