November 23, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 7, 1422

TOKYO, Nov 22: Tokyo stocks rebounded in late trading on Thursday as investors hunted for bargains among hi-techs after the collapse of a Japanese non-life insurer dampened sentiment, brokers said.

The Nikkei average of 225 leading issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 35.74 points or 0.3 per cent at 10,696.82.

In the final hour of trading, investors came out buying back hi-techs, particularly semiconductors, in futures-led deals, said Kokusai Securities equity manager Hidenori Kawasaki.

There had been strong downside resistance all day, however, while investors found it hard to sell off ahead of a three-day weekend, he said. The market is closed Friday for a public holiday.

The Topix index of all issues on the Tokyo market’s first section gained 3.83 points or 0.4 per cent to 1,062.47 points. Advancing issues outnumbered losers by 723 to 597 while 147 other issues were unchanged.

Turnover on the major board totaled an estimated 675 million shares against the previous day’s 737 million shares.

Share prices tumbled in early trading after Taisei Fire and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. announced it had filed for bankruptcy protection.

A survey by Japan’s non-life insurance association showed claim settlements related to the terror blitz would reach some $250 million, including re-insurance claims.

The stock exchange terminated trading in Taisei, adding the stock will be delisted on February 23.

Taisei was due to merge next April with Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. and Nissan Fire and Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. Yasuda fell 39 yen or 4.8 per cent to 779 yen and Nissan Fire ended down100 yen or 17.8 per cent at 461 yen.

Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co. Ltd., which will form a separate insurance group, fell eight yen or 0.8 per cent to 973 yen.

Telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) closed up 3,000 yen or 0.6 per cent at 489,000 yen before it announced a massive one-off loss on overseas investments in the US and the Netherlands pushed it 2.2 billion dollars into the red for the six months to September.

Among hi-techs, electronics giant and major chipmaker Toshiba Corp. rose nine yen or 1.7 per cent to 544 yen and electronics component maker TDK Corp. gained 80 yen or 1.3 per cent to 6,490 yen.

Megabanks rose further amid hopes they would speed up bad-loan disposals.

UFJ Holdings Inc. rose 15,000 yen or 3.3 per cent to 465,000 yen and Mizuho Holdings Inc. gained 4,000 yen or 1.2 per cent to 349,000 yen.—AFP