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Asia rides techs upward
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July 10, 2000: 6:27 a.m. ET
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore all advance amid Nasdaq-led optimism
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Markets across Asia powered higher Monday, as real estate shares climbed and telecommunications and technology stocks were buoyed by the latest session's gains on the tech-heavy U.S. Nasdaq market.
Tokyo's blue-chip Nikkei 225 index closed up 174.44 points, or 1 percent, at 17,572.68, with telecom and high-tech manufacturing shares rising. Consumer electronics leader Sony added 1.8 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 408.71 points, or 2.4 percent, at 17,238.67.
Singapore's Straits Times index rose 5.48 points, or 0.3 percent, to 098.11, boosted by strong gains for property development companies.
 Elsewhere among the Pacific Rim's largest markets, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 19.5 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,324.8 as media powerhouse News Corp. added 2 percent.
Asia's only declining index on Monday was Taiwan's benchmark Weighted Index, which dropped 0.2 percent. The Kospi index in Seoul rose 1.1 percent despite concerns that workers in the banking sector may strike to protest government-led reforms. SK Telecom climbed 3.2 percent and Samsung Electronics added 1.5 percent.
In the currency market, the dollar lost ground against the Japanese yen following what analysts called a lackluster meeting of G7 finance ministers, which provided few signs that Japanese interest rates would rise from their current rock-bottom levels. The greenback weakened to ¥106.99 from ¥107.87 in late New York trading Friday.
On the Tokyo exchange, mobile-phone service provider NTT DoCoMo added 3 percent while its parent, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, climbed 1.3 percent. Talks began Monday between Japan and the United States over the fees NTT charges to carry other phone companies' calls, after Washington demanded NTT cut the fees faster and more deeply than Tokyo has proposed.
Internet investor Softbank, which has holdings in many U.S. Internet companies, rose 2.4 percent. Many top Net stocks rallied Friday as the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.6 percent.
Shares of Ikeda Bussan, a maker of car seats, rose 42 percent to ¥168 as key shareholders warmed to a $185 million cash-and-debt buyout bid from U.S. car parts maker Johnson Controls (JCI: Research, Estimates). Nissan, which owns about 38 percent of Ikeda Bussan, rose 0.7 percent.
Indian purchase for Hutchison?
In Hong Kong, telecom-to-real estate company Hutchison Whampoa climbed 0.9 percent on reports it might buy Indian mobile-phone operator Usha Martin Telekom after analysts said it received permission to bypass Indian regulations on overseas ownership of telecom firms.
Investors also expect an announcement this week about a tie-up between Hutchison, NTT DoCoMo and Dutch phone operator Royal KPN about joint bids for next-generation mobile-phone licenses in Europe.
Internet upstart Pacific Century Cyber Works rose 7.1 percent and merger partner Cable & Wireless HKT rose 3.9 percent. China Mobile, formerly known as China Telecom, rose 2.8 percent.
In Singapore, property developer City Developments rallied nearly 8 percent amid signs domestic interest rates will remain low and supportive comments from analysts. Heavily weighted Singapore Telecommunications dropped 1.2 percent, keeping the index's gain in check.
In the Hong Kong property sector, New World Development rose 15.5 percent, Amoy Properties rose 9.8 percent and blue-chip developer Sun Hung Kai Properties rose 6 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, the JSX index in Jakarta added 0.1 percent, Manila's PHS composite rose 0.5 percent, and Kuala Lumpur's KLSE composite rose 2.1 percent. In Bangkok the SET index rose 1.2 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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