May 3, 2002	atimes.com

Front ASIAN MARKETS: Hong Kong gains Share markets closed mainly higher, led by sharp gains in Hong Kong. Taiwan, however, plunged more than 3 percent. Australia Australian share prices rose a negligible 0.06 percent as gains by News Corp and most banks countered falls by Telstra and BHP Billiton. The Standard & Poor's-Australian Stock Exchange 200 (S&P-ASX200) Index rose 1.9 points to 3,362.3 while the All Ordinaries Index gained 2.5 points to close at 3,311.3. Westpac fell 1.83 percent to A$16.10 after reporting a record interim net profit of A$1.018 billion. It also said it would book a $750 million profit on the sale of its AGC consumer finance unit to GE Capital. Telecom leader Telstra Corp Ltd fell 23 cents or 4.57 percent to A$4.80. It reported a 1.1 percent decline in third-quarter revenue and an unchanged year outlook. BHP Billiton fell 2.76 percent to A$10.55 after it said on Wednesday that its March quarter net profit dropped 33 percent to $406 million. Rival Rio Tinto slipped 1.96 percent to A$35.00. Japan Tokyo share prices fell fractionally in lethargic trading with investors pocketing profits ahead of a four-day weekend. The benchmark Nikkei-225 Average was down just 1.78 points, or 0.02 percent, at 11,551.01, while the broader capital-weighted Topix Index lost 0.41 point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,086.50. The stronger yen had an impact on auto makers and tech leaders such as Sony, which lost 0.87 percent to 6,850 yen. Computer and chip maker Fujitsu was down 1.5 percent to 981 yen and printer and copier maker Canon fell 0.4 percent to 4,900 yen. Honda Motor dropped 1.85 percent to 5,840 yen, Nissan slumped 4.1 percent to 953 yen and auto leader Toyota lost 1.42 percent to 3,470 yen. Among banks, Mizuho Holdings dropped 2.81 percent to 277,000 yen, MTFG lost 0.34 percent to 888,000 yen and UFJ eased 0.3 percent to 321,000. SMBC was a gainer, up 1.19 percent to 596 yen. Japanese financial markets will be closed on Friday and Monday for national holidays. Hong Kong Share prices closed 2.46 percent higher in active trade following gains on Wall Street and with new funds flowing into the local market. The Hang Seng Index gained 282.53 points to close at 11,780.11. Developer Cheung Kong rose 2.36 percent to HK$76.25, and Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 2.21 percent to HK$69.50. Henderson Land added 0.8 percent to HK$38.30. Banking leader HSBC was also up 0.8 percent to HK$93.50. South Korea Share prices rose 2.2 percent as retail investors sought bargains in banks and second-liners, with sentiment supported bythe gains in the Dow Jones industrials in the US. The Korea Stock Exchange Index (Kospi) closed up 17.52 points at 859.86. Seoul stock markets were closed on Wednesday, May 1, for Labor Day. Traders exchanged 690.2 million shares for a turnover of 3.64 trillion won. Gainers numbered 637 and losers 127, with 52 unchanged. While foreigners kept up a selling spree, disposing of 48.5 billion won more shares than they bought despite the US stock market's recovery, retail investors bought as much as 286.5 billion won worth of stocks in net, leading the market turnaround. All industries gained but services, which lost 1.27 percent; paper and wood rose 6.61 percent, followed by the 6.15 percent expansion by transportation storage, which includes airliners; the 6.31 percent climb by banks; and a 3.33 percent increase by transportation equipment. Samsung Electronics (05930) fell 2,500 won, or 0.65 percent, to 379,500. Kookmin Bank and 10 other listed banks in the main stock market gained. Kookmin Bank (60000), the nation's largest lender, added 2,200 won, or 3.73 percent, to 61,000. Korea Exchange Bank (04940) surged by its 15-percent daily limit to 8,100 won. Hyundai Motor (05380) rose 1,500 won, or 3.1 percent, to 49,500, and its affiliate Kia Motors (00270) put on 850 won, or 6.36 percent, to 14,200. Hynix Semiconductor (00660) plunged by its 15 percent daily limit to 815 won as creditors said they will continue to push the sale of the semiconductor firm's assets. The over-the-counter Kosdaq Index also traced the main market's rally, surging 4.40 points, or 2.97 percent, to 76.31. Gainers dominated losers 625-112, with 36 unchanged. Volume totaled 272 million shares for a turnover of 1.22 trillion won. Asiana Airlines (20560) surged 350 won, or 8.2 percent, to 4,600, as it made net profit reports for the first quarter from a loss a year earlier. KT Freetel (32390) rose 1,250 won, or 3.2 percent, to 39,850 on first-quarter net profits that nearly tripled those from a year earlier. Taiwan Share prices closed lower on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (Taiex), with the Weighted Price Index, the market's key barometer, moving down 197.9 points to 5,867.83. Encouraged by a rebound in the Dow Jones index, the bourse opened at 6,099.27 but began to go down later due to a drop in electronics shares. The bourse fluctuated between 6,106.77 and 5,855.96 during trading. A total of 4.06 billion shares changed hands on a market turnover of NT$99.78 billion (US$2.88 billion), compared with the previous trading session, which saw 3.69 billion stocks change hands on a market turnover of NT$81.96 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers 605-74, with 35 stocks remaining unchanged. Chip foundry TSMC lost 2.86 percent to NT$85, while UMC slipped 1.83 percent to NT$51.50. Asustek Computer dropped 6.8 percent to NT$117. Only one of the eight major stock categories posted gains, with foodstuff shares edging up 0.6 percent. The other major stock categories lost ground, with construction stocks moving down the most at 5.7 percent, followed by plastics and chemical shares 3.9 percent, electrical stocks 3.8 percent, textile issues 3.7 percent, pulp and paper issues 3.2 percent, cement stocks 1.7 percent, and bank and insurance shares 1.2 percent. Elsewhere Philippine share prices closed 1.3 percent higher as investors picked up bargains, cheered by the peaceful outcome of the May Day protests at the Presidential Palace. The Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index rose 17.23 points to 1,363.32. Singapore share prices closed 0.9 percent higher ahead of the national budget which is expected to contain hefty tax cuts. The Straits Times Index advanced 14.98 points to 1,740.35. Malaysian share prices closed 0.2 percent higher due to institutional support of select blue chips. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index added 1.36 points to 795.35. In Jakarta, shares ended higher on a solid rebound in Semen Gresik and gains in tobacco stocks and bargain-hunting in select blue chips. The JSX Composite Index was up 0.9 percent, or 4.980 points, at 539.700. Thai stocks ended 0.4 percent lower due mainly to profit-taking in electronics and financial shares, but a sharp rebound in transportation and energy shares after recent declines limited the index's loss. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Composite Index closed down 1.56 points at 369.86. The blue-chip SET 50 index was down 0.11 point, or 0.5 percent, at 24.24. (Asia Times Online)

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