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SCMP Reporter

HONG Kong was not the only market on the slide yesterday. The 1.57 per cent fall in the Hang Seng Index was part of a widespread reversal of the recent surges around much of the region.

   But it was Tokyo - already this year's wooden spoon market in Asia outside India - which took the biggest tumble, with the Nikkei 225 average tumbling 431.45 points to 18,949.79.

   The 2.23 per cent fall took Tokyo through what many had regarded as a technical support level, leaving analysts wondering where prices were going next.

   The latest decline in the Nikkei was triggered by poor interim earnings figures and some active arbitraging between the cash and futures markets, said brokers.

   While Tokyo is showing a 29 per cent gain in US dollar terms on the year, yesterday's fall took it still further away from its year-to-date peak of 21,148 scored on September 13.

  Elsewhere in Asia, markets lost their steam as foreign investors prepared to stop shovelling money into the furnaces.

   Thailand, a big winner in recent weeks as overseas funds chased undervalued stocks, led the way.

  Profit-taking, particularly among top performing telecommunications and property issues, put the skids under the whole market, with the SET Index following up Wednesday's four per cent slump with a further 1.42 per cent slide.

   The Bangkok market also had an attack of political jitters on rumours that parliament was about to be dissolved. The Thai Government is facing a running battle with the opposition over attempts to sack the country's police chief, Sawasdi Amornvivat.

  This week's reversal still leaves investors sitting on gains of 45 per cent this year, and the SET Index has gained 32 per cent since the latest bull run began early last month.

   Political concerns were also unsettling Malaysia, halting its record-breaking run, which reached a high on Wednesday.

   While the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was down just 4.97 points to 977.06, the second liners measured by the Second Board index tumbled 1.91 per cent.

   Rumours about the elections of officers to the United Malay National Organisation, the country's key party, were seen as an excuse for some profits to be taken.

   After the market closed it emerged that Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his so-called ''Vision Team'' had taken top posts.

  The correction still left investors in second board stocks sitting on 116 per cent profits this year, while the widely-based KLEMAS is a comfortable 85 per cent ahead.

   In Singapore, the SES-All Index, regarded as the most representative of the market, dived 1.17 per cent as the rocket assistance from the very successful Singapore Telecommunications launch began to burn out.

  In some markets, however, the power of foreign funds was still being felt.

  Share prices in Indonesia soared, with the Composite Index in Jakarta leaping 3.41 per cent, with a 16.5-point gain to 500.75.

  That is still a long way behind the peak 640 points seen in June 1990, but still marks a near 80 per cent gain on the year.



Tokyo suffers most as regional shares retreat