Fed feeds Asia's good mood
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Tech stocks are leading Japan's Nikkei higher after gains on Wall Street.
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(CNN) -- Japanese stocks have moved higher Thursday, taking a lead from Wall St. after Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy was growing vigorously.
High-tech exporters such as Toshiba lead the field, chasing U.S. blue-chip stocks which surged to a 32-month high.
That came after comments by Greenspan appeared to close the door on an interest rate increase in the next few months.
The Nikkei 225 average is up 1.33 percent to 10,502.90 in early afternoon trade. It slipped 0.36 percent to a seven-week low of 10,365.40 Tuesday.
The broader Topix index has added 0.83 percent to 1,033.74.
Hong Kong and Taiwan are up more than 1 percent, while South Korea's Kospi has eased after hitting two-year highs Wednesday.
The dollar weakened after Greenspan hinted that U.S. interest rates were unlikely to move soon. It is fetching 105.31 yen, down 0.14 for the day.
"Greenspan's comments are double-edged, as they contain some good news on the U.S. economy, but have also helped weaken the dollar, which is not good news for Japanese exporters," Hiroaki Kuramochi, head of global equities at Credit Lyonnais, told Reuters.
Toshiba, Japan's biggest chipmaker, is 2.12 percent ahead to 433 yen. Sony is 1 percent higher to 4350 yen.
Beef-bowl restaurant chain Yoshinoya D&C is up 1.3 percent to 153,000 yen after taking "gyudon" off the menu because of the beef shortage.
Japanese textile firm Sotoh Co is up 6.46 percent at 1,565 yen following news that the U.S.-based Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund will raise its bid for Sotoh 10 percent to 1,550 yen per share.
Investors are watching for quarterly earnings reports from shipping giant Nippon Yusen, Internet investor Softbank and camera maker Konica Minolta.
The Kospi is virtually steady at 877.15 points, up 00.9 percent.
Shares in Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's largest memory chipmaker, hit a record high in early trade before its gain was cut to 0.36 percent at 557,000 won.
The Shinhan Financial Group continues a second big day of gains. It has risen 4.29 percent and is up 14.9 percent since January 1.
Bellwether SK Telecom is down 0.45 percent to 220,500 won
"Investors seem to perceive yesterday's more than one percent gain in the local market as already reflecting the U.S. rally," said Hwang Chang-joong, an analyst at LG Investment & Securities in South Korea told Reuters.
The Hang Seng has started aggressively, adding 1.06 percent on to its value to be 13657.19 points. There are rises of 1.93 percent for China Mobile and 1.59 percent for PCCW.
In Taiwan, the Taiex is in a similar mood. It is up 1.02 percent in midday trade, standing at 6520.4. Semiconductor leader TSMC is 1.56 percent ahead to T$65. Rival UMC stands 0.98 percent higher at T$31.
Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.38 percent in early trade to be 1875.78.
DBS Holdings Group is 2 percent higher at S$15.30. Singapore Airlines has taken a 0.85 percent dip to S$11.60.
The Australian market is preoccupied by results of its giant media company, News Corp, and the national telecommunications carrier, Telstra. The S&P/ASX 200 is 0.77 percent higher at 3326.
News is up 1.24 percent to A$12.25 after it said revenue for the October-December 2003 quarter grew 19 percent to $5.6 billion, from $4.7 billion a year earlier.(Full Story)
Investors were less than impressed with Telstra, which said Thursday its half-year net profit nearly doubled on cost-cutting. (Full Story)
But tough competition has undermined growth. Domestic sales revenue in the half rose 0.9 percent, compared with 14 percent third-quarter revenue growth at its main rival Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications.
"Following those Singtel Optus numbers, it's probably the best one could have expected," Argo Investments Ltd managing director Rob Patterson told Reuters.
"The main thing is confirmation that their cost reduction program is on schedule," he said.
Shares in the carrier are down 1.45 percent to A$4.75 in a firmer wider market.
Resources leader BHP Billiton is one of the largest gainers in Australia, rising 1.38 percent to A$11.76.
The New Zealand Top 50 index struggled for a second day, falling 0.44 percent to 2428.248. Air New Zealand has gained 2.44 percent to stand at NZ41c.
