Docomo surges on share split plan

SHARES in NTT Docomo, one of the most expensive counters in the world, went even higher today on news of a one-for-five share split that will bring the stock into the range of smaller investors.

Buying a single NTT Docomo share now costs an investor 1.49m yen, or £7,860, but the company is ready to split the shares ahead of its planned listing in London and New York in March. The news pushed the stock up by almost 7% in Tokyo, where the Nikkei 225 Average climbed 76.71 points to close at 10,220.85. A further lift came from Toyota after the motor giant announced a continuation of its share buyback policy, sending the stock up 2%.

The deepening economic gloom failed to deter foreign investors. The latest tale of woe came from the retail sector. Last year sales fell by 2.2% after a worrying 3.1% slide in December.

Other Asian markets were mildly buoyant as investors continued to nibble stocks, foreign buyers leading the way. But buying was subdued as investors stood back ahead of the latest moves on US interest from the Federal Reserve this week.

Technology stocks were boosted by good third-quarter profit figures from Sony on Friday, but there was also accelerated buying of other blue-chips on wider recovery hopes.

Taiwan stocks continued to press ahead, but it was the non-tech shares that set the pace for a change as the Weighted Average broke through 6000 for the first time in almost 12 months. The index climbed 56.69 points to 6007.33, taking this year's gain to more than 8%. Analysts said the brighter outlook for tech stocks, such as Taiwan Semiconductor, was raising confidence in the rest of the economy, and buyers were looking for bargains in other sectors.

The speed of South Korea's recent charge slowed, but the Kospi still added 6.99 points to 781.67, its sixth consecutive trading day of gains. Foreign buyers remained bullish but switched to the smaller stocks quoted on the Kosdaq market, which climbed more than 2% after being left behind by the broader Kospi this year.

Hong Kong investors stood back, waiting for direction from New York, and in sluggish trading the Hang Seng index fell 5.5 points to 10,767.5. Property stocks regained some poise on encouraging weekend sales of new apartments, but HSBC Holdings held the market back after Merrill Lynch suggested trimming weightings in all global banks.

Singapore's market gained as banks and other blue-chip stocks started to price in investors' belief in a long-term world recovery that would boost the island's export figures this year. The Straits Times index jumped 38.3 points to 1769.1 as top lender United Overseas Bank added 2%, and among computer based stocks Creative Technology continued its recent dazzling rise with a further 6% leap, takings its gain this year to 22% on hopes of a major profits rally.

Wild talk of takeover bids boosted shares in Malaysia, generating a surge of 9.01 points to 702.59 in the Kuala Lumpur Composite. Thailand's SET index added 0.52 to 339.51, but in Indonesia the Jakarta Composite lost recent impetus and slipped 3.96 to 448.5. In Sydney the market was closed for Australia Day.

Prices and indices in this section are supplied from various sources and calculated at different times and may not always match those listed on the site.