HONG KONG, Jan 29: Shares in Tokyo moved slightly higher Thursday while the battered Bangkok bourse registered strong gains on foreign buying.Stock markets in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei were closed Thursday for the Chinese Lunar New Year or the Moslem Eid holidays. In Tokyo, Shares closed slightly higher after moving narrowly as investors waited for details of the government's new economy-boosting measures.
``Investors pulled back from the market awaiting the passage of economic measures in parliament,'' a broker said. ``They are also waiting for details of the expected additional government package (due on February 20).''
The key Nikkei stock average rose 40.76 points, or 0.2 per cent, to end at 17,014.59.
But the broader Topix index of all first section issues closed down 9.37 points at 1,284.59, with turnover on the major board totalling an estimated 770 million shares compared with 1.031 billion the previous day.
The Nikkei index was pulled wellclear of its lows in late trading, buoyed by revived futures-led buying along with support for international blue chips such as Honda, Sony and Bridgestone. But bank, construction and cyclical stocks were pressured by sustained but modest profit-taking following their recent strong gains.
In Bangkok, shares surged 2.9 per cent as foreign buyers, cheered by the prospect ofa change in Bangkok's IMF deal, pursued a major buying spree in blue-chip stocks. The market, enjoying a rare upward trend, was also encouraged by a pledge by the US leader that Washington would not abandon the crisis-stricken region and a call for more IMF funding for Asia.
``Foreign institutional investors were buoyed by President Clinton's comments on the financial crisis in Asia in which he said United States will not leave the region alone,'' said Boonsom Kasrapradit, head of research at Asia Credit Securities.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index gained 13.02 points to finish at 447.24, while the SET 50 selected indexwas 1.16 points firmer at 33.85.
A total of 262 million shares, worth 4.3 billion baht ($79.6 million) changed hands. Advancers led decliners by 165 to 56 with 68 issues unchanged.The Finance sector led the rally with the sectoral index gaining 7.3 per cent. Communications followed, rising five per cent, while energy added 4.9 per cent to its gains.
The rally came after a visit to the United States by Finance Minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda, who on Tuesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had agreed to changes in the conditions of its $17.2 billion bailout.
While the economic outlook remains gloomy, the likelihood that the IMF will relax some of conditions has injected a positive tone into the market, a Bangkok First Investment analyst said.
``A less rigid package would be helpful to the economy as we would expect monetary and fiscal policies to be relaxed, providing a boost to the economy and the stock market,'' he said.
Another factor spurring the market was the upcoming visit by theWorld Bank president James Wolfensohn starting Friday and the stability of the baht, analysts said.
The baht fell marginally during the day and was trading late Thursday at 55.02-07 baht after opening at 54.84-87 in the domestic market.
At Manila, Share prices gained 0.8 per cent as investors bet on selective blue chips, analysts said. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 14.61 points to close at 1,796.68.
The market `opened quite strongly but it seemed like profit-taking has taken down most of today's gains,'' said Ted Valte of A and A Securities Inc. The market inched its way passed the 1800 level mark in early morning trade at 1805.62 points before shedding some of its gains.
Turnover rose to 2.416 billion shares worth 956.569 million pesos ($22.75 million) compared to 1.306 billion shares worth 979 million pesos on Wednesday.
Worst still to come for Philippines
Meanwhile, according to data made available by the Philippine Government, the country's economy grew faster thanexpected in 1997 despite the Asian financial crisis but growth is forecast to be much slower this year as the turmoil hits home, officials and analysts said Thursday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.1 per cent and gross national product (GNP), which includes income from abroad, rose 5.8 per cent in 1997, Economic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito said in a news briefing.
The figures are higher than revised targets set by the Philippine government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the Asian financial crisis broke out in the second half of 1997.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
