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Tokyo jumps, Seoul slumps
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September 1, 1999: 5:49 a.m. ET
Nikkei boosted by bargain hunting, lifts most other markets; Seoul sheds 3.5%
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo led a rebound in Asian markets Wednesday, with the Nikkei rallying more than 2 percent. Seoul shares slid 3.5 percent.
The Nikkei 225 jumped 366 points at 17,802.48, as blue chips rebounded following a nearly 500 point slump Tuesday.
"I see levels below 17,500 as very attractive for bargain-hunting," said Hiroshi Arano, director at Dai-ichi Kangyo Asset Management.
A widespread rally left many stocks with sizable gains. Contractor Obayashi Corp. was one of the biggest gainers, up 8.1 percent at 639 yen. Chemical stocks were also strong as Takeda Chemical Industries jumped 4.4 percent to 5,740 yen and Shin-Etsu Chemicals rose 5.6 percent to 4,710.
Financial stocks also made strong gains. Broker Nomura Securities led the way as it soared 6.5 percent to 1,709 yen.
Other markets in the region took heart from Tokyo's rally after most posted significant losses in the previous session, dragged down by another negative session in New York Monday.
Wall Street sent out mixed signals Tuesday, however, as contradictory economic data made for volatile trading.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 85 points to 10,829.28, while the Nasdaq composite index rose almost 1 percent to 2,739.33.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index posted small gains as it ended 0.5 percent or 61 points higher at 13,544.19. The Straits Times index in Singapore closed just inside the plus column, up 0.2 percent at 2,122.34, a rise of 5 points.
Sydney's All Ordinaries jumped 45 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 2,997.4, as resource stocks broke a six-day losing streak. Taiwan's Weighted index continued its strong recent performances to end 1.4 percent higher at 8,273.33
The JSX index in Indonesia gained 0.8 percent to close at 571.78.
The other markets failed to take any inspiration from Tokyo. South Korea's Kospi suffered heavy losses as overseas investors bailed out of the market. The index slumped 3.5 percent to 905.52.
Investors sold financial stocks in particular, on jitters over rising interest rates in Korea and concerns about a possible rate rise in the United States.
Manila's Composite was also weak, slipping 1 percent to close at 2,152.76.
Thailand's Set index fell 0.7 percent to 437.17. Kuala Lumpur, which reopened after a market holiday, fell 1.8 percent to close at 752.91.
-- from staff and wire reports
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