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HK slumps; Tokyo gains
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February 10, 1999: 6:27 a.m. ET
Nikkei edges higher as Hang Seng hits new 1999 low
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian stock markets took their cue from Wall Street with all but Tokyo and Korea finishing the day lower. Hong Kong shares ended the day down almost 2 percent, only slightly off a new 1999 low hit in morning trading.
The Nikkei 225 index of leading shares ended the day just slightly higher. The benchmark index recovered from a modest loss to finish up 0.36 per cent at 13,952.40.
Tokyo investors exercised caution after the sharp fall in Nasdaq stocks overnight and ahead of a market holiday Thursday and the Bank of Japan policy board meeting on Friday.
The late recovery came on the back of the rise in the dollar against the yen. Global manufacturers, such as Sony Corp. led the way. The electronics giant was up 2.19 percent at 8,400 yen.
Troubled Japanese bank, Nomura Securities was one of the biggest decliners, down 4.36 percent at 900.
Worries in Hong Kong about the credit crunch in mainland China only served to magnify the plunge on Wall Street. Futures- related selling and the anticipation of poor corporate results ahead of next week's Chinese New Year celebrations also conspired to weigh on prices.
"The market is being driven by futures-related trading activities," Sunny Chan, senior research manager at Seapower Securities told Reuters. "Fund managers are not interested in Hong Kong at the moment and retail investors are reluctant to get into the market ahead of the Chinese New Year."
The Hang Seng index closed down 1.82 percent at 9,076.33, coming off this year's low of 9,000.24.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index ended the day down 1.52 percent at 1,285.18. News that the government's investment arm Temasek Holdings had priced in a smaller than expected S$1.3 billion ($770 million) issue depressed banking shares. This conspired to push the index below the psychological 1,300 mark.
The reaction to the sharp decline on Wall Street pushed shares lower in Sydney. The All Ordinaries index finished the day 1.24 percent lower at 2,854.8.
In Manila, the index fell below the 1,900 mark, down 1.96 percent to 1,897.19.
Late buying of brokerage shares helped South Korea's Kospi index finish the day slightly up at 524.49, a rise of 0.21 percent.
In Kuala Lumpur the Composite index fell 0.36 per cent to 546.15, despite a number of clarifications by the central bank over the new tax on repatriated profits announced last week. That sparked a wave of selling among overseas investors.
Thai stocks finished the day down with the index of leading shares falling 1.75 percent to 314.74.
Shares in Jakarta suffered as investors sold amid uncertainty ahead of parliamentary elections. The index fell 1 percent to 398.68.
from staff and wire reports
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