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Asian stocks hold early gains
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian stocks are higher at midday Monday, as investors draw confidence from reports U.S. forces are tightening their grip on most access roads into Baghdad. South Korea is the region's best performer, with the Kospi up more than 3 percent. The dollar is also higher at 120.70 yen in Monday trade, while gold and oil are lower on expectations that the conflict in Iraq may soon be over. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average finished the morning session up 0.19 percent to 8089.86, after putting on 0.70 percent on Friday. The broader Topix index is 0.39 percent higher to 798.67. Other Asian markets are also higher, with good gains for Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Singapore. But the impact of the SARS disease continues to weigh on Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index is about half a percent lower at 8775.89. The performance in Asia follows a modest 0.45 percent gain on Friday for the Dow Jones industrial average in New York, and a more robust result in Europe, where London's FTSE put on 1.15 percent and Frankfurt's DAX put on 3.3 percent. (Full story) Japan's big exporters, including carmakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda, and tech-related stocks such as Kyocera and Hitachi, are all higher. The market's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, is 2.6 percent firmer at 236,000 yen, though its parent NTT is down about 1.7 percent to 408,000 yen. Banks are generally firmer after their intra-day slumps last Friday, though Mizuho is down again, off 0.8 percent to 73,800 yen. It touched a record low of 68,000 yen during Friday trade. UFJ is up 2 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is 1.1 percent higher and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group is up 2.38 percent. Both marked record lows before closing with gains on Friday. Video game market Nintendo is 3.2 percent higher at 9950 yen. Korea, Australia higher
In Seoul, the Kospi is 3.16 percent higher at 575.66. Leading automaker Hyundai Motor has jumped 4.46 percent to 25,750 won and big chipmaker Samsung Electronics is up 2.65 percent to 291,000 won. Mobile telephone company SK Telecom has gained just over 3.5 percent to 175,000 won and big banks Kookmin, Shinhan and Chohung are also firmer. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down slightly near midday after more SARS cases were reported. Banking leader HSBC is up 0.3 percent to HK$83.00. China Mobile is unchanged at HK$15.70 and PCCW was down half a percent to HK$4.50. Taiwan's Taiex is up 1.5 percent to 4570.07 as tech-related stocks and industrials show good gains, with rises of 1.5 percent for chip foundries TSMC and UMC and a similar gain to T$47.90 for Formosa Plastic. Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.75 percent to 1323.64 near midday. Singapore Airlines is up slightly to S$9.30, but SingTel is unchanged at S$1.42. Australia's S&P/ASX200 has put on 1.4 percent to 2974.5. News Corp, the market's biggest stock, is 2.73 percent higher to A$11.65. The media group looks to have a clear run to bid for U.S. satellite broadcaster DirecTV. Resources leaders BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are firmer, as are other blue chips NAB and Telstra. Shares in miner MIM were halted Monday morning ahead of an announcement later in the day on its expected A$5 billion tieup with Swiss-based Xstrata pls. MIM last traded at A$1.60, while Xstrata's bid is expected to be pitched at about A$1.80. Airline Qantas is 1 percent higher at A$3.18. New Zealand's Top 50 is about 0.9 percent higher at 1963.13 with Telecom NZ up more than 2 percent to NZ$4.695. Air New Zealand is also firmer. "There is little doubt that the unfavorable impact of the war on the global economy is fading a little more each day," HSBC Chief Economist John Edwards told Reuters in Sydney. But analysts also caution that the market gains may not be sustainable and that problems in the U.S. economy may resurface once the war euphoria dims. Reuters contributed to this report.
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