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HK recovers, Tokyo falls
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June 14, 2000: 7:13 a.m. ET
Hong Kong stocks rebound to close in the black; Nikkei retreats on rate fears
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian stock markets see-sawed in a volatile session of thin trading that left the blue-chip index in Tokyo down more than 1.5 percent while Hong Kong rebounded late in the session, to close 1 percent ahead.
Japanese equities were held back by expectations the country was set to end its zero-interest-rate policy. Although the Bank of Japan kept rates on hold at its meeting Monday, market analysts expect a hike in the third quarter. Rising rates typically hit company earnings and prices of rate-sensitive stocks.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 260.5 points at 16,654.42 having moved in a broad 500-point range during the session, with telecom and auto stocks providing the main drag.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed up 164 points at 15,857.07 after spending most of the session in the red. The index bottomed at 15,621 as heavyweight Hang Seng component China Telecom continued to lose ground. Late demand for property conglomerate Cheung Kong (Holdings) drove the index back into positive territory.
 Singapore's Straits Times also performed an about-turn during the session, closing 0.9 percent higher at 2,036.18 as gains among technology stocks countered falls for financial-services shares.
In Seoul, the Kospi index jumped 1.84 percent to close at 819.27, clawing back part of its near 5 percent slump on Tuesday.
In the U.S. Tuesday, investors took heart from a combination of benign retail sales figures and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's decision not to mention interest rates in a speech to business leaders. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.55 percent while the broader S&P 500 jumped 1.8 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite added 2.2 percent.
 In Tokyo, telecom shares continued to pull the Nikkei 225 lower, with cellular operator NTT DoCoMo losing 1.6 percent amid calls from politicians for state-controlled Nippon Telegraph & Telephone to reduce its holding in the company. NTT stock lost 2.1 percent.
Automakers were also pegged back for a second session, with market leader Toyota Motor falling 5.8 percent and second-ranked Honda Motor down 5.5 percent amid fears that a slowing U.S. economy would hit export sales.
Consumer electronics maker Sony continued its recent poor run with a fall of 4.2 percent. Banks helped to limit the Nikkei's decline, with Sumitomo Bank adding 2.3 percent.
Tech stocks also fared well, with Internet investor Softbank jumping 6.3 percent and sector peer Hikari Tsushin almost 4.5 percent ahead.
Property lifts Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, Cheung Kong (Holdings) jumped 3.8 percent ahead of a shareholder vote on a proposal to allow founder Li Ka-shing to increase his stake in the firm above 50 percent. Cheung Kong's separately listed telecom arm, Hutchison Whampoa, added 2.1 percent after announcing plans to boost its investment in new-generation cellular phones.
China Telecom continued to weigh on the index, with analysts saying investors were offloading stock as they prepared to put money into the upcoming flotation of China Unicom. China Telecom firmed a little at the end of the session to end down 0.8 percent.
Banks also offset China Telecom's decline, with HSBC Holdings up 1.6 percent and Hang Seng Bank almost 4 percent ahead.
Sydney's S&P/ASX200 index ended up just 0.4 points at 3,114.2 having spent most of the session in the red, held down by a 1.1 percent fall in dominant telecom operator Telstra after analysts cut their earnings forecasts for the firm.
Australian financial and industrial stocks got a lift from a report that the country's economy expanded 1.1 percent in this year's first quarter, well ahead of expectations. The figures released Wednesday took the annualized growth rate to 4.3 percent.
Taiwan's Weighted index added 0.5 percent to end the session at 8,935.23, lifted by gains for key chipmakers in the wake of the Nasdaq's advance.
Manila's PHS Composite closed higher for the second successive session, adding 0.16 percent to end at 1,524.51.
The Set 50 in Bangkok was the region's strongest benchmark index, ending 3.1 percent higher, while the JSX index in Jakarta added 1.6 percent and Kuala Lumpur's KLSE Composite closed 0.4 percent lower. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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