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HK soars past 12,000
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April 16, 1999: 5:50 a.m. ET
Nikkei firms; Hang Seng surge boosts confidence throughout Asia
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian markets enjoyed a bullish session Friday, boosted by a fourth straight record close by the Dow Jones industrial average.
Tokyo stocks rose, but the star performer was Hong Kong, which surged almost 5 percent, dragging with several smaller markets in its wake.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index powered ahead in a late rally to close 528 points higher, up 4.41 percent at 12,490.30. This was the first time blue-chip stocks had pushed through the 12,000 barrier since the market meltdown in October 1997.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended Friday up 124 points at 16,852.58. The rise of 0.74 percent was less than half the increase from earlier in the session. The index pared its gains in the afternoon as the strong yen whittled down investors' enthusiasm for technology-related stocks.
A flood of overseas money was responsible for the large jump in Hong Kong as investor confidence firmed. "It's overseas funds coming in, renewed optimism, and the belief that if the American market can rise past fundamental valuations, so can Hong Kong," Douglas Hansen-Luke, associate director at South China Securities, told Reuters.
One of the star performers Friday was Hang Seng Bank, which leaped 7.6 percent to HK$81.75. Its 62 percent owner, and index heavyweight, HSBC Holdings, rose HK$7 to HK$277.
Nippon Steel put in one of the best performances to close more than 11.5 percent higher at 289 yen, as traders favored stocks with significant domestic exposure. The company also said it was boosting capital investment this year.
The Straits Times index in Singapore also rose strongly in late-session trading, to end up 3.71 percent at 1,769.50, a rise of 63 points.
More impressive gains came from two of the region's smaller markets, buoyed by what appears to be new-found confidence in Asia.
Returning from a three-day New Year holiday traders in Bangkok sent the Set index rocketing 6.8 percent. The blue-chip index was up 25 points at 395.92.
The buying buzz caught on in Indonesia too, where the JSX index in Jakarta powered 7.55 percent higher to 481.28. In the other market still trading, Kuala Lumpur's Composite index was up 3.24 percent at 600.74.
Sydney's All Ordinaries index closed almost flat, adding just 5 points to 3,099.8. In Manila, the Composite index was up 2.58 percent at 2,233.64.
South Korea's Kospi index, which made strong gains Thursday, closed only 3 points higher at 725,14, while the only red mark on the region came from Taipei, where the Weighted index closed down 31 points at 7466.82.
-- from staff and wire reports
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