| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japan closes at 15-month high
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets closed broadly higher Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei stock average ending at a 15-month high, just below the key 11,000 mark. Japanese banks made spectacular rises early in the day before fading near the close. The moves in Asia came after the U.S. Fed's decision to keep interest rates at historically low levels boosted U.S. stocks and lifted hopes for global economic recovery. The Nikkei 225 finished 0.95 percent higher at 10,990.11 after spending most of the day above 11,000 -- the first time it had been above that mark since July 2002. Wednesday's gain followed its 1.63 percent rise on Tuesday. The broader Topix index ended 1 percent higher at 1072.57, extending a 15-month closing high it hit on Tuesday. Other markets in the region were also higher, with Singapore and Taiwan showing the best gains after Japan. South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia were all in the black. After the U.S. Fed kept interest rates on hold, Wall Street closed firmer Tuesday, with gains of 1.25 percent for the Dow and 2.25 percent for the tech-heavy Nasdaq. (Full story) In Tokyo, big bank Mizuho, which jumped almost 16 percent Tuesday, continued to surge. It hit 246,000 yen at one stage before closing with a 3.2 percent gain to 227,000 yen. UFJ, another bank to climb sharply on Tuesday, eased 1.1 percent to 441,000 yen. The price fluctuations came as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and 15 major banks prepared to exchange a written agreement lowering the rate of tax on banks' gross operating profits from 3 percent to 0.9 percent. (Full story) Automakers were higher, with Nissan up 2.1 percent to 1437 yen and Honda 3.4 percent ahead to 5500 yen. Market leader Toyota put on 1.6 percent to 3900 yen. Consumer electronics leader Sony rose 1.1 percent to 4410 yen. Mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, the market's biggest stock, ended with a 3.8 percent lift to 302,000 yen. Millea, Japan's biggest general insurer, jumped 11 percent to 1.38 million yen. In Seoul, the Kospi finished 0.39 percent higher to 766.59. South Korea's biggest stock, Samsung Electronics, was 1.1 percent higher to 449,500 won. SK Telecom put on 1 percent to 202,000 won but big exporter Hyundai Motor fell 1.3 percent to 39,000 won. Australia's S&P/ASX200 ended 0.71 percent ahead to 3217.0. Market heavyweight News Corp, which makes most of its money in the United States, is up 3.1 percent to A$13.09. Big banks were mainly steady and leading retailer Coles Myer was up 2.1 percent to A$7.37. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index finished 0.62 percent higher at 11,140.05. Conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa ended 1.3 percent ahead to HK$58.50 and big bank HSBC was up half a percent to HK$102.00. Telco PCCW posted a 1 percent gain to HK$4.95 and China Mobile put on 1.4 percent to HK$21.30. Taiwan's Taiex closed 0.84 percent higher at 5747.14, its highest since May 2002. Underpinning the index was a solid 4.4 percent lift for the market's biggest stock, chip foundry TSMC, to T$71.50. China Steel was down 0.4 percent to T$26.80 after an official said its overseas share issue planned for September was being delayed to October. ( Full story) Singapore's Straits Times index is 1 percent ahead to 1599.82. Leading bank DBS is up 0.8 percent to S$12.70.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
