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HK surges; Tokyo edges up
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February 12, 1999: 5:43 a.m. ET
BoJ decision comes after market close; Thailand soars 10 percent; Korea jumps
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LONDON (CNNfn) - The strong surge on Wall Street was diluted by the time it reached Asia, but it did manage to help inspire a 3 percent gain in Hong Kong.
Thailand soared 10 percent following passage of key legislation to set up a bankruptcy court, and Korea jumped 5 percent.
Tokyo was subdued, however, as investors waited for the outcome of the Bank of Japan policy committee meeting, which came after the market closed.
The central bank announced it was cutting its overnight short-term call rate by 10 basis points to 0.15 percent. Pressure had been mounting on the BoJ to take more drastic action to stem the rise in long-term interest rates.
The Nikkei 225 index of leading shares ended the day just over 21 points, or 0.15 percent higher, at 13,973.69. An upbeat banking sector had helped drive stocks up in early trade. But by late afternoon shares were hurt by a sharp fall in bond prices.
Banking stocks were buoyant in anticipation of a government announcement on a final restructuring package of more than seven trillion yen to revitalize the sector.
Newspaper reports of a deal with Mitsubishi Trust gave an added boost to the sector's biggest gainer, Sumitomo Trust, which closed up 10.3 percent at 343 yen. Mitsubishi closed up 2.4 percent at 930.
Pharmaceutical company, Teikoku Hormone Manufacturing closed the day up 100 yen or 14.3 percent, at 800 on reports that the Japanese health ministry is expected to announce March 3 that the contraceptive pill will be licensed in Japan.
Mitsubishi Chemical was the most heavily traded stock in the market, rising 7.4 percent to 292 on the back of its restructuring plan announced Tuesday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jumped 3.05 percent to close at 9,425.42 as traders' reaction to the surge on Wall Street was boosted by expectations later in the day that the government would announce the resumption of land sales after the market closed, which it did.
The land sales would help developers replenish their land supplies and bring in badly needed revenues to the government. The Hong Kong government suspended land sales last summer to stabilize falling property prices.
Property stocks benefited with big gainers including New World Development, up 6.2 percent to HK$14.60, Sun Hung Kai Properties, up 4.9 percent to HK$50.75, and Hutchinson Whampoa, up 4.2 percent to HK$51.25.
Hang Seng's major constituent, HSBC Holdings rose 2.95 percent to HK$192.
After making strong gains yesterday, Singapore's Straits Times Index closed down 0.17 percent to 1,354.85.
Jakarta slipped just over half a percent to 400.55.
The largest single gainer was Seoul's Kospi index, which ended the Friday up 5.3 percent at 551.77.
Sydney closed the day up 0.78 percent at 2,889.5, as the All Ordinaries took its cue from Wall Street and strong corporate results at home.
Taiwan's Weighted Index and the Philippines market both gained 1.3 percent to close at 5,798.00 and 1,919.78 respectively.
In Thailand stocks soared more than 10 percent on relief that key legislation was passed in Parliament after months of delays. The set up of a specialized bankruptcy court is expected to help the beleaguered Thai economy recover from its recession.
Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was up 2.17 percent at 570.79. 
--from staff and wire reports
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