|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nikkei scrambles back to the black
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 average recovered from a fresh 19-year low in morning trade to close half a percent higher Thursday. Tokyo's gain -- only the second in 11 days of trading -- led a string of muted rises across Asia on Thursday. Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand all made slight gains, and Hong Kong edged into the black at the close. Singapore surged at the close to finish up 1.5 percent, while South Korea's market was closed for presidential elections. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average sank at the open and hit 8,256.12 in morning going, before recovering on buying from pension funds. It ended up 0.52 percent at 8,387.57. But traders warn it could turn lower again later this month and test the 19-year closing low of 8,303 set on November 14. The broader Topix put on 0.88 percent to 822.89, helped by gains among banking stocks. On Wednesday the Topix had fallen almost 2 percent to 815.74, its lowest close since October 1984. In South Korea, voters went to the polls to elect a new president, with experts noting that the economic differences between the two candidates pale when compared with their political stances on the United States and North Korea. (Full story) U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 1.03 percent to 8,447.35 and Nasdaq giving up 2.19 percent. (U.S. roundup) Airlines lower in Tokyo
With the prospect of a war in Iraq putting pressure on oil prices, airline stocks fell in Tokyo. The country's flagship carrier, Japan Airlines System, dropped 3.21 percent to 241 yen. All Nippon Airways, the No. 2 airline, fell 3.35 percent to 202 yen. Among big industrials, Nippon Steel jumped 4.62 percent to 136 yen, Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor both rose 0.65 percent and power utility Tepco added 1.94 percent to 2,100 yen. Leading exporter Sony rose 0.4 percent to 5,020 yen, recovering from earlier losses, and Nintendo was up 2.36 percent to 11,300 yen. The yen was a little weaker at 121.17 in early European trading. Bank stocks finished higher, with UFJ Holdings jumping 9.52 percent to 115,000 yen -- the first time it has closed above the share price of rival Mizuho Holdings. Mizuho, which rose 3.64 percent to 114,000 yen, is in talks with debt-hobbled chain Seibu Department Stores Ltd. about a bailout. (Full story) MTFG and SMFG, the two other big banks, rose 3.65 percent and 4.34 percent respectively. NTT DoCoMo, the market's largest stock, put on 1.83 percent to 223,000 yen. But rival KDDI was 1 percent lower. Gold gleaming in Sydney
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.09 percent higher at 2,989.1, helped by selected banks and gold stocks. NAB added half a percent and CBA rose 0.11 percent. Telstra was also up slightly. Miner and oil producer BHP Billiton lost 2.02 percent to A$9.70, having gained in recent days as oil prices moved higher. Oil Search fell 1.67 percent to A$0.59 after plunging 25 percent the day before, as a key client of its Papua New Guinea-to-Queensland gas pipeline said it was likely to look to other sources for gas. (Full story) But there were gains in gold mining companies after bullion prices rose again. Lihir Gold put on 3.73 percent to A$1.39 and Placer Dome rose 8.95 percent to A$20.70 as gold briefly rose above $350 an ounce in Australian trade. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.52 percent at 1,930.90 as Telecom New Zealand continued its resurgence, up 2.66 percent to NZ$4.63. Hang Seng driftingHong Kong's Hang Seng index inched ahead 0.10 percent to 9,557.86, having shown losses most of the day. The largest listing HSBC recovered from a selloff to end flat at HK$87.50, with its subsidiary Hang Seng up 0.60 percent at HK$84.50. Telecom company PCCW fell 0.82 percent to HK$1.21, but Hong Kong's No. 2 listing China Mobile climbed back from negative territory to end flat at HK$19.10. Higher oil prices hit airline Cathay Pacific, sending it down 0.46 percent to HK$10.90. Developer Wheelock rose 0.92 percent to HK$5.50 after selling off Wednesday as it announced a reshuffling of its operations. (Full story) Taiwan's carmakers upTaiwan's Taiex eased after early gains in Asia to post a rise of just 0.29 percent to 4,549.23. Carmaker Yulon Motor topping the volume with a 3.63 percent gain to T$45.70. China Motor rose 4.41 percent to T$71.00. Both are expected to gain from tighter investment ties with mainland China. Chang Hwa Bank was another gainer, up 3.61 percent to T$17.20. But TSMC, Taiwan's largest listing, fell 4.38 percent to T$45.90 and rival chip foundry UMC dipped 2.65 percent to T$22.10. Singapore's Straits Times index raced ahead just before the closing bell, adding more than 1 percent in the last half hour to close up 1.5 percent at 1,354.63. Bank stock OCBC climbed 2.12 percent to S$9.65, and its peer DBS Group turned around to end up 1.79 percent at S$11.40. UOB also joined them in the black, up 1.72 percent to S$11.80. NatSteel edged ahead 0.49 percent to S$2.07 as the bidding war for its control continues. (Bidder raises price) Chartered Semiconductor gained 0.64 percent to S$0.785, climbing off its record low close of S$0.78 set on Wednesday.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
