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Recovery talk lifts Tokyo
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March 15, 1999: 3:05 a.m. ET
Nikkei jumps nearly 2%, Nissan races 13% higher on Renault talk
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo stocks gave a kick-start to Asia's trading week Monday amid rumblings of renewed vitality in banking stocks after the government threw the ailing sector a multi-trillion yen lifeline last week to help ward off a liquidity crunch.
The Nikkei average finished up 290.74 points, or 1.88 percent, at 15,779.60 as hopes of an impending economic turnaround induced a spate of bargain-hunting. In Tokyo, comments by the Bank of Japan about short-term interest rates were construed by markets as a sign the bank will stick to a loose monetary policy.
Nissan Motor was one of the day's clear winners. The Tokyo stock closed up 13 percent following reports that it is nearing an agreement with Renault for the French carmaker to acquire a 33 percent stake in the company. Separately, Sony Corp. confirmed it is in talks over an alliance with U.S. broadcaster NBC.
In Hong Kong, rumors that the Cheung Kong-Hutchison Whampoa group may acquire Cable & Wireless drove the Hang Seng moderately higher by late afternoon. The index advanced 0.44 percent to 10,849.14 in choppy trade, punctuated by warnings that any upswing may be kept on a tight rein by the market's recent gains.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index overcame some early weakness, propelled by property and finance shares. The index edged up 0.37 percent, or 5.49 points, at 1,491.23 on volume of 115 million shares.
The passage by Thailand's Senate of a crucial bankruptcy bill late Friday sent shares surging more than 4 percent on the country's SET index Monday afternoon. International buying pushed banking and finance stocks sharply higher amid positive sentiment over the reform package, which also included other economic measures.
Shares on Australia's All Ordinaries charged to a third straight record high Monday amid positive sentiment about the nation's low inflation, strong corporate earnings and excitement about the U.S. market's tilt towards the 10,000 mark, traders told Reuters. Australian stocks ended up nearly 1 percent at 2,989.5 on strong buying in the bank sector.
Among the day's losers, Jakarta shares slipped marginally after trading higher early Monday as bank shares gained on encouraging talk about a government package of reforms. Jakarta stocks eased 0.37 percent in late trade to close at 374.576. Manila stocks gave up 0.2 percent, to end at 1,941.34 as investors shrugged off a 12.5-basis-point cut in interest rates by the central bank.
Malaysian shares were off 1.44 percent in Kuala Lumpur as weak industrial data cast a pall, despite a weekend win by the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in regional elections in Sabah state.
Taiwan's weighted index rose 2.1 percent to close at 6,598.32, while Korean stocks inched up a whisker to close 1.22 points higher at 592.02.
--From staff and wire reports
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