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Japan fires up with big gain
HONG KONG, China -- Japanese blue chips soared to a three-week high on Monday in a delayed reaction to big gains in Asian and U.S. markets at the end of last week. But most of the region's other top share indices, including South Korea, Taiwan and Australia, ended lower on wariness over the war in Iraq. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 finished up 2.93 percent at 8,435.07. The broader Topix also jumped nearly three percent to 831.43, with computer-related stocks and automakers accounting for around a third of the gains. Japanese financial markets had been closed for a public holiday on Friday, when stock markets across the Asia Pacific rallied as U.S.-led troops advanced into southern Iraq. Tokyo's jump also came on the heels of impressive gains in Europe and the United States, with Wall Street rising for its eighth straight session on Friday. (Full story) European stocks likewise ended Friday's session at multi-week highs. (Full story) Recent weakness in the yen encouraged buying of Japanese blue chip exporters such as Canon and Toyota Motor. A weaker yen contributes to exporters' competitiveness in overseas markets. The dollar hit a three-month high of 121.88 yen on Friday, but eased slightly to 120.80 in Monday afternoon trade in Asia as hopes faded for a quick end to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. "Developments over the weekend have clearly poured some cold water on the dollar," Kosuke Hanao at Royal Bank of Scotland in Tokyo told Reuters. "But many still believe that things are developing in favor of the United States. So there should be plenty of bargain-hunting demand if the dollar falls sharply." Toyota Motor, Japan's biggest automaker and the most active issue by value, rose 3.17 percent to 2,930 yen. Office equipment maker Canon, which gets 70 percent of its revenue from overseas, leapt 5.13 percent to 4,510 yen. Tokyo's rally was broad based, with major banks and airlines also performing strongly. UFJ Holdings rose 2.52 percent to 122,000 yen as the end of the financial year on March 31 approaches. Leading airlines JAL added 6 percent to 265 yen while rival ANA ended 5.83 percent higher at 254 yen. Tokyo's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, jumped 3.88 percent to 241,000 yen, with its rivals KDDI and Japan Telecom also sharply higher. South Korea ends lower
Buyers were less in evidence in Seoul, where fading hopes for a short war in Iraq sent the Kospi 1.03 percent lower to 569.85. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 0.79 percent to 312,500 won, while big exporter Hyundai Motor slipped 0.19 percent to 25,650 won. Korea Electric Power dipped 1.1 percent to 18,000 won following a rise in crude oil prices. The power company spends more than a fifth of its fuel budget on oil to generate electricity. Nymex crude for May delivery rose 1.89 percent to $27.42 a barrel in after hours trade on Monday amid fears that the war in Iraq could go longer than planned. Singapore stocks were among the worst performers on Monday. The Straits Times index broke a four-day winning streak to end 2.01 percent lower at 1,299.56. Investors took profits on bank and property counters following recent gains. OCBC bank dropped 3.03 percent to close at S$9.60, while DBS was down 1.89 percent at $10.40. Shares of Singapore Airlines fell 2.94 percent to S$9.90. Investors greeted the debut of apparel maker Ocean Sky International with around 79 million shares changing hands before it closed at S$0.265. That was 15 percent higher than its initial public offering price of S$0.23. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished 0.77 percent lower at 9,108.45. Big bank HSBC dipped 0.6 percent to HK$83.25 and conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa lost 3.02 percent to HK$45.00. In Australia, the S&P ASX 200 ended down 0.29 percent at 2,858.5 on weakness in News Corp. The media conglomerate's shares fell 3.19 percent to A$10.92 on concern over reports that it may pay $7 billion for U.S.-based takeover target DirecTV. New Zealand's benchmark Top 50 Index closed up 0.44 percent at 1,916.44.Air New Zealand, which jumped sharply last Friday, fell 3.7 percent to NZ$0.52. In Taipei, the Taiex fell 0.35 percent to 4,570.68. Tech stocks were the most active issues, with contract chipmaker United Microelectronics edging up 0.46 percent to T$21.70. Reuters contributed to this report.
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