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Asian shares push ahead
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December 23, 1999: 6:08 a.m. ET
Singapore hits record high as techs buoy HK; Tokyo closed for holiday
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian markets made strong gains Thursday, with Singapore’s main index reaching an all-time high and Hong Kong firming amid strong demand for technology shares. Tokyo’s markets were closed for a public holiday.
The Straits Times in Singapore closed up 1.7 percent at 2,424.15 after the country’s largest bank expanded its regional presence to send shares in the sector soaring.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped a little from its session high but still closed up 0.64 percent at 16,296.08.
The Kospi in Seoul continued its recent run, closing up 0.65 percent at 974.16 as overseas investors continued to buoy the telecom sector.
The All Ordinaries in Sydney couldn’t match the leading markets’ gains, shedding 0.8 percent to close at 3,117.50.
Asia’s advance was again underpinned by a record-breaking performance by the Nasdaq in the U.S. in the previous session. The tech-heavy index added 26 points to close at a high of 3,937.30.
Other U.S. markets also moved ahead, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 3 points to 11,203.60 while the broader S&P 500 edged up 2.56 points to 1,435.99.
The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates Tuesday continued to give support to the yen, which nudged higher to around 101.40 against the dollar. The euro gained a little ground to touch $1.01, up from $1.0080 earlier in the session.
In Singapore, DBS Group’s plan to take a 19.7 percent stake in Philippines-based BPI sent its shares up 1.5 percent. Overseas Union Bank was even stronger, climbing 3.4 percent.
Among technology shares, circuit manufacturer Datacraft surged 25 percent, Creative Technologies gained 3.6 percent and Omni Industries rose 7.7 percent.
Pacific Century CyberWorks was again the most heavily traded stock in Hong Kong, rocketing 41 percent, after earlier showing a gain of as much as 60 percent from the previous close. The shares leapt despite the company’s denial of a report that the Internet company may agree on a share swap with Microsoft (MSFT).
Market bellwether HSBC Holdings fell 0.5 percent, pull the market back fare the bank’s shares gave up an early-session gain.
C&W HKT added 1.5 percent and China Telecom rose almost 2 percent to help lift the Hang Seng higher.
Among smaller markets, the PHS Composite in Manila was the best performer, closing up 1.1 percent at 2,085.58. Taiwan’s Weighted index closed up 1 percent at 8,083.49, the JSX in Jakarta ended 0.77 percent higher at 666.13, and Thailand’s Set added 0.8 percent to end at 462.24. The KLSE Composite in Kuala Lumpur fell 0.75 percent to 782.05. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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