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South Korea leads Asian stock surge
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks surged to a higher close Friday, led by a 4 percent leap in South Korea's market. Taiwan put on more than 2 percent and Hong Kong closed up a similar amount, outstripping Taipei as it closed. Japan's markets remain closed until Monday, January 6, after their extended New Year holiday. Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore closed slightly up on tech gains. Australia put on 0.92 percent, while New Zealand's market returned to action with a mild rise after the New Year break. Bullish investors in Seoul chased blue chips after a strong start to trading on Wall Street, sending the Kospi up 4.08 percent to 661.10. U.S. stocks started 2003 with a bang, Nasdaq running ahead 3.69 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average adding 3.19 percent to 8,607.52. (Full story) Investors were reacting to a surprisingly strong manufacturing report, which showed activity picked up in December for the first time since the U.S. summer. (Full story) Korea leaps on Samsung gainsIn South Korea, chipmaker Samsung Electronics led the gains with a 7.0 percent leap to 344,000 won.
Financial stocks also did well. Chohung Bank put on 6.99 percent to 4,515 won and Kookmin Bank added 4.77 percent to 43,950 won. Korea Exchange Bank was up 2.89 percent to 4,095 won after it said it expected net profit of over 300 billion won ($251 million) this year. Telecom KT Corp. closed 5.0 percent higher at 52,400 won and retailer Shinsegae finished 4.35 percent up at 156,000 won. Steelmaker Posco rose 2.97 percent to 121,500 won after its chairman said operating profit and sales rose in 2002. (Full story) Gains in Hong KongHong Kong's Hang Seng index finished up 2.33 percent at 9,583.85, with virtually all its components gaining and taking it just past Taiwan at the close.
Johnson Electric, which sells most of its small motors in the United States, finished up 4.71 percent at HK$8.90, while trading house Li & Fung was up 4.70 percent to HK$7.80 after the strong numbers from its main market. The market's largest listing, HSBC, continued its recovery from war-induced selling, up 2.03 percent to end at HK$87.75. Telecom stock PCCW, the worst-performing big cap for both of the last two years, was up 4.65 percent to HK$1.35. Henderson Investment plunged 13.89 percent to HK$6.20 after majority owner Henderson Land failed in its bid to take the company private, due to resistance from minority shareholders. Taiwan banks outstripping techsIn Taiwan, the Taiex put on 2.24 percent to 4,626.32 in heavy trade. Industrials, financials and techs all made strong gains. Taiwan Cement and Asia Cement jumped 6.9 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. Screenmaker Au Optronics added 6.13 percent to T$22.50 and chip foundry TSMC added 5.4 percent to T$44.80. Its smaller rival UMC did even better, jumping 6.64 percent to T$22.50. Eva Airways moved up 6.58 percent and China Airlines finished 5.13 percent higher on optimism over direct transport links between Taiwan and mainland China. News heading rise in SydneyAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.92 percent to 3,055.5. Media group News Corp., which gets most of its sales in the United States, jumped 4.1 percent to A$12.18. Peptide Technology, which rocketed up 54 percent on Thursday, put on another 7.7 percent to A$1.82 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its rheumatoid arthritis antibody for marketing. Peptide has licensed the antibody to Abbott, which is using it to make the drug Humira. Australasia's largest food group, Goodman Fielder, was flat at A$1.79 after the Australian Takeovers Panel rejected its attempt to delay a takeover offer from smaller Burns Philp, clearing the bid to proceed. Resources stock Rio Tinto rose 2.01 percent to A$34.94 and BHP Billiton put on 1.47 percent to A$10.33. Amcor rose 1.3 percent to A$8.68 after it said it would sell its 65 percent stake in Amcor White Cap to its U.S. joint venture partner. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 resumed trading with a modest 0.26 percent rise to 1,950.40. Telecom New Zealand added 0.66 percent to NZ$4.56 and Air New Zealand put on 2.0 percent to NZ$0.51 as it pushed ahead with its alliance with Qantas by issuing notes to the Australian carrier. Singapore techs move northIn Singapore, the Straits Times index ended up 0.3 percent at 1,339.93, led by gains in tech companies that ship to the United States. Chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor ended up 6.25 percent to S$0.765, having touched a record low of S$0.70 the day before. Creative Technology finished up 3.23 percent to S$12.80, with Datacraft Asia up 3.70 percent to S$0.70. Bank stocks were up early but soon resumed Thursday's declines, with UOB down 1.72 percent to S$11.40 and OCBC off 1.05 percent to S$9.45. Takeover target NatSteel edged ahead 0.49 percent to S$2.07 as it completed a sale, boosting its cash reserves.
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