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HONG KONG, Jan 19: Asian stocks bounced off Japan to a much higher close on Thursday with investors finding some relief in Tokyo where calm was finally restored after a day of chaotic trade, dealers said. They said Wednesday’s historic plunge, when authorities were forced to end trade prematurely, appeared to be overdone although concern over the Japanese Internet firm Livedoor remain.
But as fears receded Thursday, Tokyo returned to its winning form and notched-up a 2.3 per cent gain and markets elsewhere followed suit with local issues coming to the fore.
Sydney was up 1.13 per cent, Hong Kong 1.22 per cent, Bangkok climbed 1.17 per cent, Shanghai rose 1.38 per cent, Singapore gained 0.81 per cent, Mumbai 2.30 per cent and Jakarta outperformed the region by surging 3.09 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed sharply higher as calm returned a day after a scandal at an Internet firm sparked a flood of sell orders and forced the bourse to close early.
The Nikkei-225 index jumped 355.10 points or 2.31 per cent to 15,696.28.
Until investors are satisfied that the corporate governance issues raised by the Livedoor case are not likely to crop up among other start-up firms which have used similar methods, such as stock splits, to grow their businesses, the market is likely to remain under pressure, Otsuka said.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed sharply higher, rising 1.22 per cent as blue chips and China-related stocks attracted interest on the back of strong fund inflows.
Ping An Insurance was up 0.85 at 16.85. PICC gained 0.10 at 2.575 and China Life was up 0.20 at 7.75.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed 1.13 per cent higher, recouping a good portion of the previous day’s losses thanks to strong interest in resource stocks.
The SP/ASX 200 index rose 54 points to 4,840.9 . A total of 1.12 billion shares worth 3.96 billion dollars (2.97 billion Us) changed hands.
BHP Billiton shares jumped 0.72 dollars or 3.03 per cent to end at 24.45, while Rio Tinto climbed 2.25, or 3.20 per cent, to 72.50.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 0.81 per cent higher as sentiment got a lift from a rebound on the Japanese bourse.
The Straits Times Index rose 19.22 points to 2,378.52. Volume totalled 1.18 billion shares worth 1.04 billion Singapore dollars (638 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.15 per cent higher on bargain-hunting in blue chips after heavy losses Wednesday.
The composite index gained 1.38 points to 902.70 and volume traded was 465.56 million shares worth 583.73 million ringgit (155.72 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 3.09 per cent higher on a technical rebound, with investors tracking gains in most regional markets led by Tokyo’s recovery.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.90 per cent higher following strong gains in market leader Telecom and a rebound in Asian markets.
The NZSX-50 gross index rose 30.25 points to 3,358.90 on turnover worth 89.6 million New Zealand dollars (61.2 million US).
MUMBAI: Share prices closed sharply higher on sustained buying by overseas funds in software companies and a major deal in the country’s booming aviation sector. The Sensex rose 212.3 points or 2.3 per cent to 9,449.84. Volumes touched $819 million.
Jet shares gained Rs 21.2 1.88 pc to 1,149.9.—AFP
