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Tokyo gets biotech boost
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January 13, 2000: 5:42 a.m. ET
Japan closes up; HK, Singapore slump on rate fears, Nasdaq drop
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo's Nikkei index ended higher Thursday, lifted by gains in distribution and biotechnology companies. Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore all retreated as volatility on Wall Street and growing interest-rate anxiety clouded the market mood.
Another overnight decline on the tech-laced U.S. Nasdaq undermined technology stocks, which fell further as investors reassessed their recent sky-high valuations. The Nasdaq dropped nearly 2 percent, hot on the heels of the index's fifth-biggest point loss ever. The sector was rattled by overnight slides in Yahoo! (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT).
The dollar was trading at 105.73 yen, up from 105.08 yen late Wednesday in New York.
In Tokyo, the 225-stock benchmark Nikkei Average closed up 155.87 points, or 0.8 percent, at 18,833.29 as interest in biotechnology issues and warehouse operators helped offset declines in tech shares. Among big-ticket tech issues, consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. shed 4.5 percent to 24,250 yen, while NEC Corp. lost 4.1 percent to 2,215 yen. Bucking the sector downswing, Internet investor Softbank Corp. soared by its daily limit of 5,000 yen, or 5.8 percent, to 91,600 yen. On Wednesday, Goldman Sachs set a 12-month share price target of 184,000 yen on the stock.
Biotechnology stocks benefited from investors' cold shoulder to tech companies. Two beverage makers which have branched out into biotechnology businesses posted strong gains. Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. leapt 19.4 percent to 1,230 yen, while Takara Shuzo Co. pushed up 9.2 percent to 2,565 yen.
"The hottest sector in the market was warehouses and it took me a while to figure this out," Robert Sasaki, quantitative strategy chief at Jardine Fleming in Tokyo, told CNNfn.com. "They're hot because everyone says the Internet stocks will bring in all sorts of goods that will have to be stored somewhere." As for the biotechnology industry, it "seems to be the flavor of the year," he said.
In Hong Kong, stocks were knocked back by intensifying concerns over interest rates ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's next rate decision early next month. The bellwether Hang Seng index finished 80.24 points, or 0.5 percent lower, at 15,633.96 Thursday. Volume was HK$15.18 billion, compared with HK$14.44 billion Wednesday. Decliners outstripped gainers in the broader market by 367 to 286, with 258 issues unchanged.
Local brokers said caution prevailed as traders waited to see how U.S. markets would react to a report on U.S. December producer prices, due out later in the day. Analysts also noted that overseas funds that had stashed money in Hong Kong as a Y2K "safe haven" were now shifting into the region's other markets.
China Telecom lost 3.4 percent to HK$45.40 as investors opted to buy into Cable & Wireless HKT, which leapt 5.8 percent to HK$21.10. Among leading shares, conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa fell 1.9 percent to HK$102.50, while property group Cheung Kong Holdings gave up 1.4 percent to HK$88.75.
In Sydney, the All Ordinaries index ended 0.3 percent lower at 3,095.8 as some investors sold resource sector shares. Bank stocks also slipped as interest-rate fears flared. Traders said they saw a recent shift out of financial issues and into commodities continuing as global growth continues and bond yields remain high.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which represents 12 percent of the main index, closed up 42.8 cents at A$16.90 following a loss the previous day. News Corp. soared 28 percent Tuesday in reaction to the merger of Time Warner and America Online.
In Singapore, investors took fright at the Nasdaq decline and the outlook for U.S. interest rates. The key Straits Times Index closed down 1.4 percent at 2,394.32. A decline in blue chip component DBS Group weighed on the index.
Rising bond yields hit sentiment in Seoul, where the Kospi blue-chip composite closed 0.4 percent lower at 951.05. Overseas and institutional investors were seen selling some blue chip stocks. Thai shares slipped 0.3 percent, while Jakarta stocks ended marginally higher, but below the day's peak as technology issues succumbed to selling pressure.
Kuala Lumpur was the region's outperformer Thursday, advancing more than 2 percent to close at 890.60, a two-and-a-half-year high. The main index was supported by interest in bank stocks and select blue chips. Manila and Taiwan markets both closed modestly lower as uncertainty over U.S. interest rates eroded confidence. 
--from staff and wire reports
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