October 14, 2006	Saturday	Ramazan 20, 1427

HONG KONG, Oct 13: Asian stocks took their cue from a record close on Wall Street, finishing sharply higher on Friday with many striking all-time or multi-year highs on growing confidence in the global economy.

Dealers said New York was driven by optimism over US corporate earnings and after the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey provided some reassurance the US economy is holding up relatively well even as the key housing market stalls.

Tokyo closed 1.02 per cent higher, Taipei gained 1.21 per cent and Seoul was up 1.26 per cent, having recouped nearly all the losses suffered in the aftermath of Pyongyang's nuclear tests.

Local factors also contributed to the positive tone.

TOKYO: Share prices hit fresh five-month highs as investors cheered a record-breaking performance on Wall Street overnight and bet on strong domestic corporate earnings.

The Nikkei-225 index rallied 167.73 points to 16,536.54, the best finish since May 12. Volume rose to 1.84 billion shares from 1.67 billion on Thursday.

Sony jumped 170 yen to 4,760.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 0.65 per cent higher but slipped back after topping the key 18,000 points level on Wall Street's record overnight performance.

The benchmark broke the key 18,000 points level in early trade but then slipped back on mild profit-taking in the afternoon.

SYDNEY: Share prices closed up 0.58 per cent as strong buying of bank and mining stocks and an overnight rise on Wall Street took the market nearer to May's record highs.

The SP/ASX 200 added 30.6 points at 5,290.0, putting the May 12 record finish of 5,364.5 in sight. Turnover was 1.35 billion shares, worth 4.53 billion dollars (3.4 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Share prices closed at a new all-time high Friday following Wall Street's lead and sharp gains around the region on brighter economic prospects.

KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.81 per cent higher, with gains across the board on hopes of further strong corporate earnings figures next week.

JAKARTA: Share prices closed 1.46 per cent higher, pushing the benchmark to a record high, with sentiment boosted by Wall Street's overnight rise and gains in regional markets.

WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.65 per cent higher as local investors followed the lead of Wall Street's record beating overnight performance.

The NZX-50 gross index rose 23.59 points to 3,646.58 on turnover worth 165.8 million dollars (109.4 million US).

MUMBAI: Share prices surged 1.58 per cent to close at a record high of 12,736.42 on expectations of strong corporate earnings and sustained economic growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.—AFP