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Tokyo defies Wall St.
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June 9, 1999: 5:04 a.m. ET
Nikkei ends almost 60 points higher; Korea suffers record daily point loss
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Most Asian markets held firm Wednesday, ignoring Wall Street's overnight tumble. The main impetus came from Tokyo stocks, which proved robust ahead of key economic news due out later this week.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed almost 60 points higher at 16,622.50, a rise of 0.36 percent, with the telecom sector attracting most interest.
Tokyo's resilience helped lift Hong Kong stocks out of the red, where they had traded for most of the morning session, but jitters over a possible rise in U.S. interest rates dampened any real enthusiasm and the Hang Seng index closed just 9.56 points higher at 12,874.42, a rise of 0.07 percent.
Japanese blue chips managed to finish in the black despite the 143 point plunge on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Tuesday as fears of higher interest rates once again gripped U.S. markets.
Most Japanese investors looked toward a number of key developments later this week, including the extent of the measures the government will unveil Friday to improve labor mobility and help make companies more competitive.
There is also speculation whether a two-stage extra budget floated by Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya on Sunday will take shape, traders said.
One main key economic indicator due out Thursday is the first quarter domestic product data, where investors are looking for signs of positive growth: consensus is for a rise of 0.1 percent.
The telecom sector was the main focus Wednesday as it looked increasingly likely that U.K. giant Cable & Wireless (CW.) would become the first overseas company to win a bidding battle in Japan.
The long-running battle between C&W and Japan's dominant carrier Nippon Telephone & Telegraph for IDC turned sharply in the British company's favor after major shareholders Toyota and Itochu said they would sell their stakes to C&W. NTT had previously indicated it would not raise its offer.
NTT's shares ended 0.81 percent higher at 1,240,000 yen, while Itochu's stock leapt 2.45 percent to 293 yen. Toyota's shares were flat at 3,580 yen.
Japan's leading international carrier, KDD, benefited from the perception that the country's telecom stocks were now truly on the global stage. Its shares surged almost 5.5 percent to 7,500 yen.
KDD also benefited from the announcement that it will take a 49 percent stake in a joint venture with Shanghai Post and Telecommunication Administration, to provide telecom-related consulting services in China.
Singapore's Straits Times index continued to add to gains in late trading as it broke through the 2,000 mark, up 11.47 points at 2,007.91, a rise of 0.18 percent.
Resources stocks helped Sydney's All Ordinaries end higher, up 18.7 points at 2,985.5 a rise of 0.63.
In contrast, South Korean stocks suffered their biggest one-day point drop to end an 11-day rally amid renewed tension with North Korea, and fears of an oversupply of new stock coming to the market. The Kospi index slipped over 50 points to close at 803.46, a fall of 5.87 percent.
Philippine shares also ended the session sharply lower, with the Composite index down just over 2 percent at 2,366.45, a fall of 48.62 points.
Taiwan's Weighted index put on 65.58 points, or 0.83 percent, to end at 803.46.
In Indonesia, uncertainty about the election process, left shares lower after a 12 percent rise Tuesday. The JSX index was 1.3 percent down in late trading at 678.03.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Composite was almost flat, up just 0.25 points at 755.34, while Thai blue chips were up 7.92 points at 501.59, a gain of 1.6percent.
-- from staff and wire reports
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