bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

STRONG institutional buying of index-linked stocks pushed the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index to a new closing high of 672.53, up 7.58 points from Monday.

 ''There's a lot of foreign money in the market today,'' said an institutional dealer.

  ''Banking stocks were particularly sought after following buy recommendations by international broking firms.''    Brokers said the surge in blue chips and banking stocks led to a general recovery in the afternoon after prices had succumbed to profit-taking activity.

   But activity slowed down further with turnover falling to 385.9 million shares against 551.1 million on Monday. TAIPEI PRICES ended sharply lower across the board, led down by late selling in financials, and brokers say the index will soon test support at 4,400 points.

   The Weighted Index plunged 129.05 points or 2.8 per cent to end at 4,448.43.

 Turnover was a slow NT$39 billion.

   Unconfirmed rumours that the Big Three banks would not issue stock dividends for the next fiscal year led to nervous selling in the last hour, brokers said. MANILA PRICES tumbled for the second day as investors took profits in the absence of fresh news.

   The Manila Composite Index shed 13.84 points to close at 1,554.81.

 ''The market continues to correct as investors went on to take profits on lack of fresh incentives,'' said Mr Louie Bate of Baring Securities. SYDNEY STOCKS pulled out of an opening dip to close higher as investors focused on banks.

   The All Ordinaries Index closed up 7.2 points at 1,703.6.

   Fairfax shares closed at a record high on news that Mr Conrad Black's Telegraph would be allowed to lift its Fairfax stake to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.

   The All Industrials Index rose 12.8 points to 2,666.7 while the All Resources climbed 2.8 to 967.2.

   National turnover was 223.3 million shares worth A$386.2 million with rises beating falls by about three to two. TOKYO STOCKS ended lower, with the Nikkei Average closing below 20,000 for the first time since April 12.

  Continuing worry about the surging yen discouraged potential buyers, brokers said.

  The 225-share Nikkei Average was down 283.91 points or 1.41 per cent to 19,828.43.

   An estimated 430 million shares were traded.

   The market opened lower and fell on worries over the yen's rise and weaker March money supply data released on Monday.

  Public fund buying helped lift prices, but the Nikkei flirted with 20,000 for most of the day, with moves ranging over 525.55 points.

 ''Price-wise, the market is firming in a reasonable range. What we need is more time for consolidation,'' said one Big Four broker. SEOUL PROFIT-TAKING in reaction to the sharp gains that pushed the index to a 20-month high dragged stocks down to close lower.

 ''It's nothing but a correction following recent steep rises,'' said Mr W.K. Lee of Jardine Fleming Securities.

   The Composite Stock Index, which touched a day's high of 729.30 early in the morning, ended 4.1 points lower at 721.66.

  Turnover totalled 690.33 billion won from 880.12 billion on Monday. WELLINGTON THE NZSE-40 Capital Index was nudging 1,600 at the close, putting brokers in a bullish mood.

 ''The market looks like it's got good momentum,'' said Mr Murray Doyle of Doyle Paterson Brown.

   The index rose 8.53 to 1,597.89 on heavy volume of NZ$53 million.

   Analysts said the forestry stocks were responding to very strong lumber prices which were forecast to rise higher still. SINGAPORE PRICES closed lower as investors took profits from successive gains in the past four sessions but sentiment was still strong.

 ''There is a bit of profit-taking going on but sentiment is still solid,'' a large local brokerage's director said.

   The 30-share Straits Times Industrial Index closed at 1,763.07, down 8.95 points from Monday's closing high.

   Brokers said the profit-taking was much welcomed considering the local market's unbridled rise recently.

   The index's initial support was expected at 1,750 but 1,700 would be a strong psychological barrier, brokers said. BANGKOK THE SET Index fell 6.51 points on profit-taking to close at 884.22.

  Trading was light, with 51.7 million shares worth 3.26 billion baht changing hands.

  One broker said many investors still were waiting nervously on the sidelines to see what the watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission was going to do about several cases of alleged stock manipulation. JAKARTA STOCKS closed firmer in active trade, driven by local players.

 ''Surprisingly locals are active. They are chasing undervalued stocks,'' a local broker said.

    Gains led losses by 35 to 17, with 22 counters unchanged.

   The Jardine Index surged 0.33 points to 63.13.

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



Malaysia closes at new high