Nikkei ends losing streak with huge leap

JAPANESE stocks ended three days of falls in spectacular fashion today, as the Nikkei 225 Average bounded almost 5%.

Bank stocks soared and big overnight gains on Wall Street and Nasdaq also boosted technology shares in Tokyo. Other Asian markets responded weakly to the surge in New York as investors continued to take profits.

The Nikkei 225 surged 461.29 points or 4.69% to close at 10,295.42 as bank shares also marched up in Tokyo, cheered by the continuing campaign for a government bail-out by Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami.

Japan's biggest lender, Mizuho Holdings, led the sector higher with a near-4% gain as the bears were driven out of the market by the possibility of a rescue ahead of what will be grim year-end figures.

Chip-based stocks responded strongly to figures on US semiconductor orders. The closely watched book-to-bill ratio climbed faster than expected in January, raising hopes that inventories are being rebuilt. Advantest, which makes chip-testing equipment, jumped more than 4%, while chips-to-consumer-electronics group Sony added almost 3%.

A number of debt work-out proposals lifted hopes that financial reality is setting in and added more strength to the market. Shares of cash-strapped property developer Haseko soared 17% after it put forward plans for a debt-equity swap.

Some sharp advances in technology stocks in other Asian markets were countered by persistent selling of other sectors as foreign institutions locked in profits.

Hong Kong investors gave half a cheer to Wall Street, but the rise in the Hang Seng index was limited to 17.35 points to 10,766.41 as bank shares fell back ahead of a round of results. Yesterday's report from Standard Chartered that bankruptcies among its Hong Kong customers had soared pulled down other bank stocks. HSBC Holdings, which has been hit by worries of US accounting scandals, lost 25 cents to HK$86.75, as investors continued to park their cash in property companies.

Gains among South Korean stocks were held back by foreign selling, although an early fall to 772 in the Kospi index was later reversed and it struggled up 7.6 to 784.49. Korean Air shares rocketed 10% as analysts began to factor in an earnings boost from football fans travelling to the country for the World Cup later this year.

Taiwan tech stocks slipped as investors judged that any recovery in demand was already in the price, and the Weighted Average index lost 36.08 points to 5656.1.

Australian stocks also failed to respond to Wall Street's gains, and the All Ordinaries index lost 2.9 points to close at 3379.7. News Corporation-fell almost 5% on talk that a large line of preferred stock was overhanging the market after its purchase of US media group Kris Kraft.

Gains in computer stocks took Singapore's Straits Times index up 5.56 points to 1734.91, and buoyant Indonesian stocks boosted the Jakarta Composite index by

Markets in Thailand and Malaysia fell after managers of the California Public Employees' Retirement System said they were pulling cash out of Asian emerging markets. Thailand's SET index slid 5.54 points to 370.77 and the Kuala Lumpur Composite fell by 3.48 points to 719.31.

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.