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Nikkei notches small gains
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November 9, 1999: 5:53 a.m. ET
Tokyo reflects relaxed mood in Asia after markets shrug off Microsoft ruling
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo blue chips closed slightly higher Tuesday, reflecting a generally positive mood in Asia after the anticipated market jitters failed to materialize on Wall Street or in Europe.
The Nikkei 225 failed to hold onto most of its gains at the close, however, as it ended just 51 points, or 0.3 percent higher, at 18,292.16. "The market rebounded in early trade since there had been serious concern (Monday) that the Microsoft case would pull down the Dow," said one trader at a Japanese brokerage.
Blue chips eased, however, after the Nikkei failed to break through a key technical barrier just above the 18,500 level, the analyst added.
Japanese traders took their cue from a positive session on Wall Street Monday, where the Dow Jones industrial average ended just inside the black, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.3 percent to another record close. The failure of the antitrust ruling Friday against Microsoft (MSFT) to knock both U.S. and European markets lifted sentiment in Tokyo.
Daiwa Bank closed 3.7 percent higher in heavy trade at ¥509 after it said it was talking to Sumitomo Trust & Banking about setting up an asset management joint venture. Sumitomo closed unchanged at ¥997.
The Nasdaq record helped some tech stocks, as Internet play Softbank jumped almost 4 percent to end at ¥50,400. Sony Corp. jumped 3.3 percent to end at ¥17,990, while Fujitsu closed up 2.7 percent at ¥3,390.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone slipped 0.6 percent to end at ¥1.69 million after the government set the offer price late Monday for its latest sale of a stake in the former state-run telecom monopoly.
In Hong Kong, a late rally by telecom stocks left the Hang Seng index with a gain of 1.1 percent to close at 13,669.70, a jump of 148 points. C&W Hong Kong Telecom soared 6 percent to end at HK$19.15 and China Telecom surged 6.7 percent to HK$30.20.
South Korean traders said an automated buying program was behind the surge in the Kospi, which closed almost 4 percent higher at 943.46. The strong buying was triggered by a rise in the futures market, supported by confidence in both domestic and U.S. stocks.
In Singapore, the Straits Times closed 6.5 points higher at 2,118.08 after a minor rally late on.
A quiet session in Sydney left the All Ordinaries in a more positive mood as it closed 0.4 percent higher at 2,904.9, following recent losses on the back of an inflation warning by the central bank and last week's rate hike.
Other markets were more mixed. Taiwanese blue chips slid 0.5 percent to end at 7,362.69, while Manila's Composite closed almost flat at 1,987.93.
Kuala Lumpur blue chips fell 0.8 percent to end at 715.54 after a market holiday Monday. Thailand's Set, in contrast, surged almost 3 percent to end at 426.42 buoyed by a rally in banking and financial stocks. The JSX rose 1.7 percent to close at 638.82.
-- from staff and wire reports
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