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Nikkei, Hang Seng rally
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August 7, 2000: 5:56 a.m. ET
Tokyo rides behind Sony, Softbank as Hong Kong property sector gains
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's leading markets closed higher Monday, with Japan's Nikkei index bouncing up 2.1 percent on gains for key technology stocks while Hong Kong's property sector drove the Hang Seng index higher.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed up 335.35 points to 16,002.71, after dropping to a 17-month low in the previous session. Electronics company Sony added 2.5 percent, while Internet investor Softbank, which has ties to many U.S. Internet companies, jumped 12.8 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 301.55 points, or 1.7 percent, to 17,631.02, while Singapore's Straits Times nosed up 6.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,059.32  .
Other leading Pacific Rim markets were mixed. The Taiwan Weighted index in Taipei closed down 1.6 percent to a new 8-month low at 7,715.99. The KOSPI index in Seoul sank 4.9 percent amid concerns that a planned restructuring of industrial heavyweight Hyundai Group was lagging.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.8 percent, with media conglomerate News Corp. adding 2.4 percent and mining company Rio Tinto rallying 5.6 percent.
In the currency markets, the dollar traded at ¥108.72, up slightly from ¥108.54 in late New York trade Friday. Investors are expecting the Bank of Japan to hold to its easy credit policy when it meets on Friday. However, BOJ Governor Masaru Hayami Monday made his strongest declaration yet that he wants to stop holding interest rates at zero -- but said the BOJ must be cautious in raising rates for the first time in a decade.
Japan's techs get a bounce
Japan's top electronics companies rallied on expectations that the sector was oversold last week. In addition to Sony, electronics manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric rose six percent and TDK jumped 7.4 percent.
Itochu Techno-Science rallied 7.6 percent after announcing it would raise its net profit forecast for the six months ending in September to ¥2.6 billion ($24 million) from ¥2.25 billion. Other electric wire manufacturers also rose: Furukawa Electric added 3.6 percent and Fujikura jumped 8 percent.
Internet investor Hikari Tsushin rallied 7.5 percent.
Shares in troubled Japanese construction company Hazama jumped 16.7 percent after weekend media reports said its creditor banks were near a final agreement on a restructuring plan. 
On the downside was tire maker Bridgestone, tumbling 8.8 percent after U.S.-based Sears, Roebuck (S: Research, Estimates) said it has stopped selling Bridgestone's Firestone tires, which are under review after fatal crashes.
Bridgestone Firestone has said the tires in question are safe when properly inflated and maintained.
Electronics and audio maker Pioneer fell 2.1 percent despite announcing a return to the black during the April-June period, with net profit of ¥2.8 billion yen amid strong sales of DVD players.
In Hong Kong, shares of Hang Seng heavyweight China Mobil rose 1.5 percent despite denying a report that the telecom company plans to issue a US$500 million (HK$3.9 billion) convertible bond to help finance the purchase of networks from its mainland parent.
Hutchison rallies
Telecom and property conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa rose 2.6 percent on signs it's on track to win one of Germany's third-generation mobile phone licenses and it may also take a stake in an Italian consortium to bid for a similar license in Italy. Parent Cheung Kong Holdings tacked on 1.6 percent.
In Hong Kong's property sector, which has benefited from growing confidence that the U.S. will refrain from hiking interest rates in the near term, Henderson Land rose 4.7 percent and New World Development gained 5.6 percent. Hong Kong's dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar, making the currency particularly susceptible to rate concerns in the United States.
In Singapore, OCBC Bank, Singapore's third largest bank by assets, sank 5.5 percent. Analysts downgraded the stock, suggesting the company may not have good growth prospects.
Straits Times heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications, better known as SingTel, added 1.7 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta's JSX index fell 0.7 percent, Manila's PHS composite was down 0.1 percent, the KLSE composite in Malaysia was also down 0.1 percent while the Bangkok SET fell 1 percent. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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