TOKYO, JAN 30: Asian stock markets, barring Tokyo, surged today as investors were buoyed by a raft of positive news out of embattled regional economies. Thai shares rocketed 10.7 per cent, South Korean stocks surged a record 7.7 per cent, and the Philippine market soared 8.4 per cent, on a wave of buying the likes of which has not been for months.Stock markets in Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei were meanwhile closed for Chinese Lunar new year holidays.
Investors in Thailand were lifted by the central bank's decision to abolish a two-tier currency trading system that limited the supply of Thai baht offshore to preempt speculative attacks on the unit. In South Korea, the impetus came from a deal struck in New York with international bankers to restructure short-term debt.
And in the Philippines, better than expected economic numbers released by the government sent investors on a buying binge. Stable regional currencies added to the positive sentiment, analysts said.
Anotable exception to the regional uptrend was Tokyo. Japanese share prices fell 2.3 per cent on profit-taking as market sentiment was dampened by a series of scandals involving officials at the finance ministry, brokers said.
The Nikkei stock average of 225 leading issues fell 386.1 points to end at 16,628.47 while the topix index of all issues on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 17.08 points at 1,267.51.
Australian share prices edged up 0.5 per cent on good volumes fuelled by strong markets in the United States and Europe overnight, brokers said. Thai share prices rocketed 10.7 per cent.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
