``It is like putting poison ivy and poison oak together: it is still poison,'' said a trader at Daiwa Securities. The gains in Tokyo share prices tempered the dollar's rise against the yen, but the greenback was still stronger at 118.66/69 yen against 117.58/68 in New York trading Tuesday. Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.72 per cent by mid-day due to profit-taking on large-capitalization stocks and disappointment at the Dow's failure to sustain the 10,000 level. But Wall Street's bullishness and ample liquidity drove South Korean stocks up although steady profit taking on Seoul's more than 22 per cent surge since late February left the index flat in early afternoon.

``The market's liquidity continues to increase and the U.S. stock market is very strong. I would recommend to keep buying,'' said Park Moon-kwang, an analyst at Hyundai Securities. Taiwan's stock index also continued recent rallies to close up 1.27 per cent at 6,757.07 points, thanks largely to foreignequity funds' persistent buying spree. Manila stocks was up 0.05 percent by the close, boosted by buying on select bank stocks.

Thai stocks were up 0.61 per cent by 0545 GMT with market focus on Thailand's next letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund but trade was thin after the market digested news of the passage of a key bankruptcy reform bill. Malaysia's blue-chip share index hit a fresh 1999 low at 503.41 points by the end of the morning session as foreign selling gained momentum and thin volumes exaggerated price movements.

The index was down 1.66 per cent for the day. Jakarta shares added 1.06 per cent on gains in some blue chips led by overseas-listed Telkom shares.