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HK holds on as Tokyo slips
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March 8, 1999: 5:23 a.m. ET
Late selling hits both markets, but Hang Seng holds on to some gains
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LONDON (CNNfn) - A reality check in Tokyo helped pull the blue-chip index back below the 15,000 mark it breached earlier Monday. Hong Kong also gave up most of the session's gains late on, after speculative buying in index heavyweight Hongkong Telecom.
Star performer Monday, however, was South Korea's Kospi index which put on 6.25 percent.
Japanese investors initially took their cue from a strong end to the week on Wall Street, a weakening yen and an easing of domestic monetary policy to push the Nikkei 225 index through the 15,000 mark in morning trading.
It was the first time the index had passed through the benchmark level since December. But concerns about fundamental valuations in the market attracted sellers, and the index of leading shares closed 0.77 percent lower at 14,779.05, a fall of 114.95 points.
Brokerages figured among the largest winners as investors reckoned that the large volumes going through the market in recent sessions must be good for business. Daiwa Securities was one of the biggest gainers, adding 11.5 percent to close at 542 yen.
In Hong Kong, buyers barely managed to maintain the impetus in the market with the Hang Seng index closing up just 0.22 percent at 10,263.99.
Positive data from the U.S. Friday, which suggested the economy is not overheating and removed the threat of an interest rate hike, originally took the index up to the 10,500 mark. But as in Japan, a lack of confidence in market fundamentals meant the spree ran out of steam towards the end of the session.
Speculative buying of Hongkong Telecom play helped keep the index in the black ahead of a visit by Microsoft (MSFT) chairman Bill Gates Tuesday. Gates is expected in the territory to sign a "strategic cooperation" deal with Hongkong Telecom. The company's shares surged 5.7 percent to HK$14.80.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index closed almost flat, 0.15 percent higher at 1,451.84, despite some significant buying interest in property stocks as the perception grew that the sector has bottomed out. Profit-taking amid continued caution about the overall outlook curtailed any rise.
The biggest gainer Monday was Seoul, where stocks soared 6.25 percent, or 33.65 points, to close at 571.84. An upgrade by ratings agency Moody's on three of the country's banks appeared to be behind the bull run.
In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index ended the day almost 1 percent higher, rising 27 points to close at 2929.6. In Kuala Lumpur the Composite index closed 3 points higher at 519.86.
Taipei and Manila also ended the day higher with the two headline indices up 0.16 and 0.74 percent respectively, at 6,431.96 and 2028.28.
Bangkok's Set index closed less than a point lower at 335.58, but Jakarta's blue chips fell over 1 percent to end Monday at 384.568.
-- from staff and wire reports
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