Asia Watch

By RAY HEATH
Updated:

 

Hong Kong stocks slid almost 2% as a Japanese public holiday shifted attention from Tokyo's woes. Market leaders dragged the Hang Seng index down 277.24 points to 15,596.04. HSBC Holdings tumbled HK$1.50 to HK$118.50, while the China Mobile telecoms group lost 50 cents to HK$48.40.

Bank stocks are expected to be volatile for the rest of the month until the current full-year profit reporting reaches its finale with figures from HSBC and its affiliated Hang Seng Bank. Another blue-chip casualty was Hutchison Whampoa, which fell HK$2.25 to HK$97.25 on suggestions, denied by the company, that the value of the sale of its VoiceStream Wireless to Deutsche Telekom could be hit by a fall in the German company's stock price.

Taiwan stocks opened in strong form, but failed to hold the best of the morning as early bargain-hunting among the electronic stocks died away. At midday the Weighted index held on to a 24.48-points gain at 5834.32.

Despite further signs of easing chip prices in the US, and Friday's grim day on Nasdaq, electronic stocks rose as foreigners moved in on what they saw as an oversold sector. An unlikely mix of broker and biotechnology counters combined to pull the South Korean market up by 3.60 points to 599.07. Lower interest rates and a relaxation of rules on pension fund investment were expected to boost financial stocks.

Biotechnology stocks rose to their daily limit of 12%, reflecting global demand which has followed news of advances in human genome mapping.

Singapore investors continued to fret about the impact of a US economic slowdown on local export and profits growth, although a near-2% surge in Singapore Airlines helped the Straits Times index to a 7.32 points-rise at 1980.69. It was reported at the weekend that the national carrier was preparing to buy a direct stake in Australia's Ansett ANA airline.

A mid-morning rally rescued the Kuala Lumpur Composite index, leaving it with a wafer-thin gain of 0.17 points at 724.98.

Profit-takers dominated in Thailand as investors waited for some firm action on the economy by the incoming government, and the SET index shed 4.43 points to 320.29.

With no sign of the end of political tension in Indonesia, investors stayed away and the Jakarta Composite index fell 4.16 points to 423.76.

Hints that News Corp's widely expected grab for control of General Motors' DirecTV offshoot may not yet be a done deal failed to halt the advance in the group's stock in Sydney. Institutional buying took News Corp shares up 3%, despite a statement from GM that another party might be interested in the satellite TV network.

News Corp strength was not enough to put any real power into the market, and as other blue-chips hovered uncertainly the All Ordinaries index edged up 14.4 points to 3275.7.

Chilly words from Prime Minister John Howard on Royal Dutch/Shell's bid for Woodside Petroleum knocked the Australian energy company's stock by almost 5%. Howard said yesterday that there was concern about Australian assets being snapped up by foreigners.

• Prices and indices in this section are supplied from various sources and calculated at different times and may not always match those listed in the tables.

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