Punters out of breath after sprint

AN early sprint by Asian stocks following Friday's powerful performance in US markets quickly ran out of momentum today as the dollar tumbled on foreign exchange markets, reviving fears about the profitability of Japanese exporters.

Electronics stocks led the surge after Nasdaq had piled on more than 5% in Friday's half-day trading in New York. Intel shares soared as analysts said that there were genuine signs of recovery in chip demand. After peaking at 11,050, the Nikkei slid back and closed 56.89 points down at 10,769.2.

Sentiment was hit by warnings from Japan's Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa that the dollar would weaken further. As the yen moved back up above 120 in foreign exchange markets, shares in exporters of cars and consumer electronics went into reverse. Prices of chip-related companies were initially lifted by a bounce in the prices of 128 D-ram products on Friday, which saw the Philadelphia Semiconductor index soar almost 10%, but most gains were cut back in Tokyo, and in South Korea.

While Taiwan's Weighted Average hung on to a near 2% advance, up 104.17 points at 5359.4, South Korean stocks were swiftly battered by profit-taking. After cracking 800, the Kospi slid back to 781.38 points for a net loss of 6.45.

In Hong Kong, local bank stocks were held back by disappointment over the low valuation put on shares in Bank of China, which are to be floated next Monday, and in which Standard Chartered Bank plans to take a stake worth US$50m (£32.8m). Pricing indications over the weekend were at the bottom end of analys' expectations, calling into question the outlook for profits in the local banking sector. HSBC Holdings managed a modest advance but other bank counters partially defused a general rally based on Wall Street's gain. The rise in the Hang Seng index was limited to 38.54 points at 10,844.7.

Australian stocks continued with last week's late gains, encouraged by Wall Street's recovery and buoyed up by firm advances in local resource stocks. The All Ordinaries index added 15.3 points to close at 3179.6 as mining shares surged, led by

Rio Tinto which jumped almost 4%. Bargain hunting that had dragged News Corporation stocks up by more than 12% from recent lows began to fade, and the media giant's shares managed a modest 1% improvement.

Hair-trigger profit taking in Singapore quickly wiped out early gains based on Wall Street's strength, and the Straits Times index dipped 9.38 points to 1632.15. Malaysian markets were dominated by first dealings in the newly quoted Maxis mobile phone group, which soared to an 18% premium over its offer price. However, this failed to stir other stocks and the Kuala Lumpur Composite index eased 0.53 to 744.09.

Forecasts that consumer spending will continue to boost Thailand's economy helped lift the SET index 2.26 points to 403.36. Last week's late surge in Indonesian stocks brought out profit-takers and the Jakarta Composite index slipped 2.03 points to 490.75.

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