LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's biggest markets breathed a sigh of relief Thursday that the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike was no greater than a quarter percentage point. Excitement over new investment trusts kept stocks sizzling in Tokyo, where blue chips hit a fresh 30-month closing high. A sharp gain for China Telecom underpinned a 1 percent rally in Hong Kong.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei Average of 225 leading shares ended up 207.51 points, or 1.1 percent, at 19,786.42 as the launch of several new investment funds, notably Nomura Asset Management's "Big Project-N" Fund Wednesday, whetted buying appetites. Daiwa Asset Management is expected to headline the debut of more trusts next weak. Defensive stocks advanced amid speculation they will be snapped up by the new funds. Analysts told Reuters that the Nikkei could achieve the 20,000 level for the first time since Aug. 1 ,1997 in the next few sessions.
Fiachra MacCana, head of equity research at WestLB Securities in Tokyo, said the new trusts tended to push up stocks in high-profile sectors such as telecoms, technology and the Internet, which are likely to be included in the funds.
"It's just that it is concentrated in some of the key stocks and [traders] know what they're going to buy," MacCana said, referring to the trust funds.
Among Thursday's movers, Nomura Securities leapt 8.6 percent to 2,710 yen as investors cheered the launch of its new trust fund. Convenience store operator Seven-Eleven Japan slipped 1 percent to 15,000 yen after unveiling a tie-up with Playstation.com, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment. Sony Corp. rose 2 percent to 28,100 yen.
Nissan Motor fell 9 percent to 438 yen a day after the company said its group operating profit for the full year to March would probably fall short of the 90 billion yen ($830 million) it forecast in November. Nissan also said Thursday it's in talks to sell its aerospace division to Japan's largest jet-engine maker, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries.
The yen traded at 108.18 yen against the dollar late Thursday, little changed from its level late Wednesday of 108.10 yen. Analysts say the currency is expected to trade in a range from 107 to 115 against the dollar in the near term. The yen's relative weakness is seen as a boon to exporters, who benefit from the favorable exchange when they sell their goods abroad.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 178.30 points, or 1.1 percent, at 15,968.12 as interest swirled around Internet-related stocks on the index's last trading day of a shortened week ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday. China Telecom, which accounts for about 20 percent of the Hang Seng by weighting, soared almost 6.4 percent to HK$53.00, while another heavyweight, CITIC Pacific, jumped 4.4 percent, to HK$38.00, amid speculation that the Chinese-backed investment conglomerate may launch a joint venture with a U.S. technology firm.
Sun Hung Kai Properties gained 3 percent. Late Wednesday the company said it had applied for a separate listing of its Sunevision Internet services arm on Hong Kong's growth-enterprise exchange. Pacific Century CyberWorks gained almost 3 percent to HK$19.30 amid news it had agreed to buy a five percent stake in Tom.com, an Internet portal company.
In Australia, the latest in a string of gains for Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. countered softness elsewhere on the benchmark All Ordinaries index, which closed 0.6 percent higher at 3,135.1. News Corp. surged 7.4 percent to a record close, offsetting weakness in resource and banking stocks. The publishing and broadcasting company's shares have advanced about 50 percent since Time Warner announced its blockbuster tie-up with America Online on Jan. 10.
Singapore provided the one blip on the radar among major markets. The key Straits Times Index finished down 1 percent, at 2,249.33, taking its cue from the slight overnight dip on Wall Street as many investors squared positions ahead of an extended New Year holiday weekend. The Kospi index in Seoul overcame selling by overseas investors to close 0.7 percent higher at 950.22, as local traders snapped up blue chips amid hopes for a strong run-up next week.
Jakarta stocks rose 1.8 percent even as a political power struggle simmered in the background. Leading indexes in Manila and Taipei both climbed just over 1 percent on relief at the restrained U.S. rate rise, while Kuala Lumpur rallied 1.6 percent on strong interest in tech and small-cap shares. Thai stocks ended 1 percent lower, dragged down by reports of short-selling of bank shares by overseas investors. 
--from staff and wire reports
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