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Tokyo stocks close higher
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May 21, 1999: 4:46 a.m. ET
Nikkei rises on earnings, weak yen; interest rate concerns dog HK
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Japanese stocks finished the week quietly Friday as corporate earnings, a weak yen and renewed hopes of an economic aid package dominated investor thinking.
Fears that interest rates will have to rise again dominated trading in Hong Kong, leading the major stocks lower.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at 16,292.98, for a rise of 92.99 points, or 0.57 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 103.28 points down, a loss of 0.83 percent, at 12,272.14.
Asia's lesser markets put in a mixed performance, although most of them traded in a very narrow range.
Exporters were the real winners in Japan, with the dollar trading at 124 yen. A weaker Japanese currency helps exporters sell their goods in the United States. Currency movements eased some of the fears built up earlier in the week when the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated its willingness to raise interest rates in the near term.
"The market tested the 16,000 level this week and we have found a firm floor there. Now, examples of good earnings coming out are encouraging some optimism in the market," Katsumi Nishiyama, section chief of the stock trading department at Kokusai Securities told Reuters.
A raft of companies issued earnings reports. The banking sector recovered from selling pressure Thursday, although Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Sanwa Bank both unveiled steep losses for the 12 months to the end of March.
"It's not that investors were relieved by the results, which were uniformly bad. It is simply a rebound after banks were sold off sharply earlier in the week," Nishiyama told Reuters.
Hopes of an additional package to boost the ailing economy refused to disappear completely, contributing to the market's rise.
Auto stocks, big dollar earners, had a mixed session. Honda slumped 2.5 percent to 5,020 yen, while Mazda, which reported its first profit in years Thursday, jumped almost 3 percent to 576 yen. Nissan unveiled a net loss of $229 million for the year to the end of March after the market closed, its sixth loss in seven years. Its stock was virtually unchanged.
Hong Kong investors continued to fret over the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates. The market is closely tied to developments in the United States because the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the U.S. currency.
In the broader Hong Kong market, declines led advances 458 issues to 139 and turnover was a thin HK$5.61 billion, down from HK$7.27 billion Thursday.
In Korea dealers noted a difference of opinion between local investors and overseas institutions. Locals were buying, taking up the slack from international investors who were selling the market. The Kospi index closed just 1.89 points higher at 710.49.
Singapore stocks had a choppy session, with overnight weakness on Nasdaq hurting sentiment among electronic stocks in early trade. They recovered later in the session, however. The Straits Times index, which has enjoyed a strong run this week, was up 1.15 percent at 1,949.11.
U.S. markets were weakened by a late bout of selling Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial average dipping 20.65 points to 10,866.74. Early indications from the futures markets point to a flat session for U.S. markets later Friday.
Australia's All Ordinaries index ended the session almost unchanged at 2,950.7, in a session dominated by movements in the futures market. The index recovered ground lost early in the session with a late rally.
Of the other Asian markets, only the Philippines made any ground Friday. The Composite index gained 0.33 percent to 2,377.13. Stocks in Kuala Lumpur eased 4.84 points to 774.78, while Thailand's Set index dipped 0.5 percent to 477.12. Taiwan couldn't escape the downtrend either, although losses on the weighted index were mild. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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