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Tokyo sags; HK soars
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December 3, 1999: 6:28 a.m. ET
Export stocks take hit as bull yen spooks market; HK gets property lift
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo stocks closed nearly one percent lower Friday as a rebound in technology and telecom stocks was more than offset by broad-based dumping of traditional blue-chip shares. Hong Kong rallied more than 200 points amid brisk buying of property issues. Other Asian markets ended mixed.
The dollar bought 102.45 yen in Tokyo Friday, down slightly from its late New York level of 102.75 yen Thursday - and well short of the 104-plus level briefly seen in the wake of a dollar- and euro-buying spree by the Bank of Japan earlier in the week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average closed down 146.27 points, or 0.79 percent, at 18,368.14 despite bargain hunting of telecom and tech stocks. It followed a shining performance on Wall Street, where the tech-laced Nasdaq composite powered ahead nearly 3 percent to its 17th record close in 24 sessions.
The euro continued to hover just above parity with the dollar in Asian trade, after falling in the morning to match an overnight all-time low at $0.9995.
Top-tier stocks rebounded on the Nikkei, led by mobile-phone powerhouse NTT Docomo and other telecoms that had experienced a steep fall in recent sessions. NTT Docomo advanced 3.1 percent, while Internet investor Softbank Corp. surged 4.2 percent.
Hopes that the BoJ would intervene again in currency markets lent support to other high-tech exporters. A weaker yen would make their goods cheaper abroad. Fujitsu rose 2.9 percent, while Sony Corp. inched up 0.1 percent.
The telecom and tech gains were aided by buying from investment trust companies that launched four new sector-related funds Friday.
Fuji Heavy Industries soared 7.35 percent, extending a rise from Thursday's session amid news that it’s in talks on a possible alliance with General Motors Corp. (GM).
Hong Kong shares posted hefty gains on the back of robust property stocks. The Hang Seng index closed up 237.37 points, or 1.5 percent, at 15,840.41.
The property sector, which had lagged the index in previous sessions, found new fighting spirit. Hutchison Whampoa added half a percent to HK$102.00 a day after unveiling plans to sell 19 percent of its Hong Kong mobile subsidiary to Japan's NTT Docomo. New World Development stormed ahead 8.3 percent to HK$18.25, Henderson Land Development soared 9.4 percent to HK$49.10, and Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 5.8 percent to HK$78.00.
Singapore's Straits Times Index ended flat at 2,227.81 in narrow trade marked by selected buying of blue chips by investment funds.
The All Ordinaries in Sydney finished 0.4 percent higher, at 3,086.8, buoyed by a 4.4 percent rally in heavyweight News Corp. Traders told Reuters that News Corp.'s strong run is due to a string of upbeat brokerage reports, the company's sale of 27.5 million of its shares in U.S. satellite company Echo Star Communications, and the strong tenor of the U.S. market.
Seoul shares ended slightly lower on a late-day run of futures-linked program sales. The Kospi finished down a marginal 0.14 percent at 966.59. The weighted index in Taiwan got a boost from state approval of measures - including tax breaks and low-cost loans - aimed at helping traditional industries in areas such as plastics, textiles, foods and construction. Taiwan shares leapt 1.6 percent to 7,933.17.
Anxiety over a forthcoming cabinet reshuffle and peso softness depressed Manila stocks, which closed down 0.8 percent. Kuala Lumpur stocks gave up 1.1 percent Friday afternoon as gaming shares continued to fall amid a newly passed ban on liquor sales and gambling in a local Malaysian state.
Hefty blue chip gains drove a 2.5 percent rally in Jakarta. Traders told Reuters the market was also optimistic that the anniversary of the founding of a separatist political movement would pass peacefully. The Set index in Thailand finished 1.3 percent lower, dragged down by selling in bank and energy stocks. 
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