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SCMP Reporter

LATE buying of financial stocks pushed the market up to a sharply higher close in a technical rebound after heavy profit-taking early this week.

     The weighted index opened higher and ended 144.98 points, 3.2 per cent, up at 4,619.38.

   Turnover was an active NT$65.2 billion against Wednesday's $59.1 billion.

     Brokers said there was still room for rises in industrials but financials could quickly run into more profit-taking from their huge gains last month.

  ''It was time for a market rebound after recent sharp falls, but it's not clear if the rebound will continue tomorrow,'' said Mr Eric Ni, of Taiwan International Securities.

 TOKYO STOCKS ended slightly firmer in seesaw trade, with the Nikkei rising for the fifth consecutive day.

   Sentiment stayed bullish on a growing feeling that the market had hit bottom, and rumours that Russian President Boris Yeltsin was politically in danger had only a limited impact.

  ''The Yeltsin rumour emerged just as bears wanted to take profits after the recent rally,'' said one broker at a Big Four brokerage. ''But the bears restarted buying actively after they confirmed the market's downside was limited.''      The 225-share Nikkei average was up 46.16 points, 0.26 per cent, to 17,904.79, with an estimated 450 million shares traded.

 MANILA PRICES closed lower in an expected correction after weeks of advance but analysts say the market remains fundamentally strong.

     The Manila Stock Exchange composite index fell 26.09 points to close at 1,503.73, mainly due to the drop in the commercial index, which in turn was traced to the fall of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co in New York.

  ''The market is very, very liquid. Any correction is seen as an opportunity to buy, especially with expectations of dividend declarations over the next few days,'' an analyst from Peregrine Securities said.

SYDNEY SHARES closed higher as investors saw a rise in unemployment as lifting the prospect of an opposition win in Saturday's federal election.

  ''The figures gave the market confidence that [opposition leader Dr John] Hewson could make it,'' Mr Tim Monckton of Prudential Bache said.

  ''They feel the continued high unemployment will certainly help Hewson's cause in the last 24 hours but I still think the election is very close.''      The All Ordinaries closed 13.6 points up at 1,661.1.

     National turnover was 191.1 million shares worth A$373.1 million.

 WELLINGTON SHARES closed slightly higher in moderate trading, with the NZSE-40 capital index rising 1.54 points to 1,584.11.

  ''I think things are pretty much holding even at the moment,'' Mr Charles Batchelor of CS First Boston said.

     News that rebel government Member of Parliament Winston Peters was resigning from Parliament caused some interest.

 SEOUL INVESTORS went on a selling spree as gloom over a quick recovery in the wobbly market put further pressure on already-low sentiment.

     Brokers forecast the market would languish in the doldrums for the time being but some expect a mild rebound today.

  ''Investors, pessimistic over future market direction, clung to the sidelines,'' said Mr Kim Duck-sun, of Hyundai Securities.

     A sell-off had emerged across the board, with institutional investors remaining quiet.

 SINGAPORE PRICES fell on profit-taking, but the market's late recovery pared some early losses.

  ''All it took was for somebody to be a seller and the market followed suit,'' a senior broker said.

     Liquidation by some big institutional brokers also dampened trading but prices managed to recoup some losses in late trading, according to another broker.

     The 30-share Straits Times Industrial index fell 1.32 points to 1,666.64 after an intra-day low of 1,659.93.

 KUALA LUMPUR PROFIT-taking emerged in the afternoon, taking share prices to an easier close after another day of heavy trading.

     The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index closed down 0.12 of a point at 637.25, after being up 2.52 points at midday.

     Most brokers said that a downward correction was due as the market looked largely over-bought but some dealers attributed the afternoon selling to concerns that Russian President Boris Yeltsin was in danger of being ousted.

  ''I think it was an excuse for players to take profits after the heavy speculative interest,'' said a broker.

 BANGKOK STOCKS edged down in dull afternoon trading as investors recognised the index could not sustain the 900 psychological resistance level.

     The index fell 3.31 points to close at 896.76 on thin turnover of 3.4 billion baht. Falls outstripped rises by 149 to 82, with 70 stocks unchanged.

  ''It showed yesterday's rise was not a real rebound because the volume was thin,'' said a broker at Ekachart Finance and Securities.

   The index closed at 900.07 on Wednesday, when it rose more than 16 points. ''Investors were also discouraged by seeing the index was not able to stay above the 900-point level,'' he said.

 JAKARTA THE composite index edged up 0.908 of a point, closing at 312.687.

  The Chinese share prices are provided by Telerate. All other prices are provided by Reuter.



Taiwan up 3.2pc in rebound