October 03, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 20, 1428

HONG KONG, Oct 2: Asian stocks surged on Tuesday taking a slew of regional bourses to record highs as investors put aside concerns about US economic prospects after a strong rally on Wall Street.

The record breakers included Hong Kong, which rose nearly 4.0 per cent to vault past the 28,000 points barrier on worldwide interest in the southern Chinese territory’s shares.

Australia, Singapore, Seoul and Indonesia also closed at record levels, buoyed by an earlier rally on Wall Street that took the Dow Jones to an all-time closing high.

Expectations of more cuts in US borrowing costs also boosted investor sentiment, with hopes growing that the worst of the financial market turbulence caused by problems in the US mortgage market had passed.

The stock markets in mainland China and India were closed.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices shot above the 17,000 points level for the first time in almost two months after Wall Street jumped to a record closing high overnight, dealers said.

They said a softer yen helped export-oriented shares while fading fears about a credit squeeze supported financials.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index of leading shares gained 200.82 points or 1.19 per cent to 17,046.78, the highest closing level since August 9.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares climbed 23.90 points or 1.48 per cent to 1,639.79.

Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,313 to 337, with 67 issues unchanged.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices soared 3.9 per cent to a record close above the 28,000 points level with money flowing into the city’s stock market from around the world, dealers said.

Turnover also hit a new record of 163.13 billion Hong Kong dollars (20.9 billion US). Hong Kong stocks last hit record share price and turnover levels on Friday, when the index closed at 27,142.47.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed up 1.5 per cent at record levels as mining stocks pushed the market higher, dealers said.

They said leading resources stocks, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, were taking the market to all-time highs but investors needed to be wary the rally did not end in a short-term correction.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 96.2 points to a record 6,659.9 while the broader All Ordinaries added 87.8 points to a new high of 6,667.6.

Turnover was 1.96 billion shares worth 6.9 billion dollars (6.1 billion US).

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed at another all-time high boosted by blue-chip buying, dealers said.

They said locally-listed Chinese stocks were also in favour but succumbed to profit-taking in afternoon trade.

The Straits Times Index closed 38.61 points or 1.03 per cent higher at 3,793.83, beating the previous record set Monday. It was the third time the index has closed at a record high since Thursday.

Volume was 4.13 billion shares worth 4.36 billion Singapore dollars (2.95 billion US), with 515 rising issues, 411 losers and 701 unchanged.

Blue-chip banks and property stocks led the gainers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.6 per cent higher as Wall Street’s record-breaking performance overnight bolstered local sentiment, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 21.67 points to 1,368.72. The volume traded was 1.57 billion shares worth 2.88 billion ringgit (847.0 million dollars), while gainers led losers 605 to 253 and 284 stocks were unchanged.

At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.4040/4080 against the US dollar.

JAKARTA: Indonesian share prices finished 2.7 per cent higher at a new all-time high, supported by Wall Street’s rise overnight and a regional market rally, dealers said.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index closed up 65.49 points at a new all-time high of 2,464.94. The last closing high of 2,401.14 was made on July 24.

Volume was 5.73 billion shares valued at 6.24 trillion rupiah ($685.71 million). Gainers beat decliners 134 to 63, with 67 stocks unchanged.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices rose 1.19 per cent to near record levels in line with gains in other regional markets, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 51.10 points to close at 4,332.29 -- just 10 points short of a record high -- on turnover worth $169.8 million (129.5 million US).

Market leader Telecom rose 12 cents to 4.59 dollars and accounted for more than a third of total turnover, helping to push the broader market higher.—AFP