December 26, 2007	Wednesday	Zilhaj 15, 1428

TOKYO, Dec 25: A rally on Wall Street and a soft yen will likely boost Japanese stocks across the board on Tuesday, particularly benefiting exporters such as Canon Inc, while financial stocks may gain after news from Merrill Lynch lifted shares in their US peers.

“The market will likely extend gains on a rise in US stocks and the softer yen, but investors are unlikely to actively take positions as there are only three more trading days left this year,” said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of the equity information department at Shinko Securities.

Nikkei futures traded in Chicago closed at 15,685 on Monday, 365 points above the previous close in Osaka, pointing to a higher opening. The benchmark Nikkei average closed Friday up 1.5 per cent at 15,257.00.

BANGKOK: Thailand’s benchmark stock index was up 24.65 points, or 3.03 per cent, at 838.25 points at 0744 GMT in a thin turnover of 10.9 billion baht ($323.5 million) on Tuesday.

Energy and politically linked shares led the rise as market sentiment was lifted by expectations last weekend’s general election would help improve domestic political stability and the country’s economy, analysts said.

Stocks on the move included: Energy shares were 4.76 per cent higher, led by a 5.8 per cent rise of PTT, the biggest energy firm, to a nearly two-week high 366 baht and Banpu, the largest coal miner, which was up 4.7 percent at 400 baht, a one-week high.—AFP