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Asian markets move ahead
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January 28, 2000: 6:38 a.m. ET
New trust funds spark demand in Japan; banks, telecoms drive HK higher
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo and Hong Kong made firm gains Friday, shrugging off a weak performance on Wall Street to close higher on demand for banking and telecom shares.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 in Tokyo ended 1.2 percent higher at 19,434.78, just 6 points below its record close this year. The scheduled launch of a series of new investment trusts next week sparked demand for shares in leading Nikkei index components that the new portfolios are expected to hold.
Hong Kong continued its strong run, with the Hang Seng index closing up 1.68 percent at 16,185.90, after touching 16,315 earlier in the session, with telecoms again the main driver.
Singapore's Straits Times index closed down 0.9 percent at 2,284.91.as bank stocks weakened from recent highs.
Most Asian markets were unfazed by a weak performance Thursday on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average ended 5 points lower at 11,028.02 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.75 percent to 4,039.56.
In the currency markets, the yen rose to 104.90 against the dollar from 105.15 in late New York trade. The euro remained mired below parity with the dollar, hitting a record low of $0.9865.
Banks lift Nikkei
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended the week with a 3 percent advance from its close last Friday and touched a record high for the year of 19,595 in afternoon trading, before slipping towards the end of the session.
Fuji Bank was the most traded share, closing up 8.9 percent on speculation of an online banking tie with Internet investment leader Softbank, whose own shares added 5.3 percent.
Other financial stocks also firmed, with the country's largest bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, ending 1.7 percent ahead and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank gaining 7.3 percent. Dai-Ichi is set to merge with Fuji Bank and Industrial Bank of Japan.
Technology shares remained firm, with Sony Corp. adding another 3.2 percent following a better-than-expected fourth-quarter report earlier in the week.
Telecoms stocks also climbed, with NTT up 1.2 percent and NTT Data 2 percent ahead.
Hong Kong rises 7 percent
Hong Kong's gain took the Hang Seng index's advance from last Friday's close to more than 7 percent.
HSBC Holdings led the index higher Friday, closing up almost 2 percent after its London-listed shares a 4 percent gain in Thursday.
China Telecom jumped 4 percent after being included in Morgan Stanley Capital International's new China share index. Hutchison Whampoa and parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) rose 3 and 1.5 percent respectively, receiving support after announcing Internet-related expansion plans. Property shares also firmed, with developer Great Eagle Holdings up 10 percent.
Singapore was hit by a 3 percent drop in heavyweight bank stock DBS Group, which declined on speculation of a possible merger between rivals OCBC and Overseas Union Bank. Shares in both of the potential merger partners rose slightly. The Straits Times index gained just 6 points during the week.
Among the smaller markets, Seoul's Kospi stood out with a 3.6 percent surge to close at 941.64, with telecom shares the main draw for investors.
The All Ordinaries in Sydney added a modest 0.3 percent to end at 3,092.10, while the PHS Composite in Manila fell by a similar amount to close at 1,969.39.
Taiwan's Weighted index ended 0.7 percent higher at 9,696.91, with chip makers again the driving force, while the Set in Bangkok added 0.5 percent to reach 477.45. The KLSE Composite in Kuala Lumpur fell 0.4 percent to 935.57 and the JSX index in Jakarta slipped 1.5 percent to end at 634.67. The Indian market also weakened, with the blue chip BSE-30 in Mumbai ending down 0.6 percent at 5,335.80. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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