Asian Shares End Mostly Up On Wall Street Gains

Yahoo! Australia & NZ Finance Financial News

Friday 5 November 9:33 PM

Asian Shares End Mostly Up On Wall Street Gains

SINGAPORE (AP)--Asian stock markets closed mostly higher Friday, boosted by gains on Wall Street and a drop in oil prices.

Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues rose 115.50 points, or 1.06%, to 11,061.77 points. On Thursday, the benchmark index gained 58.46 points, or 0.54%.

The benchmark Nikkei rose on gains by high-technology, automaker and telecommunications stocks. Construction, real estate, pharmaceutical and banking issues also were higher.

However, many investors refrained from pre-weekend buying or chose to await the release of October U.S. employment data, due out later Friday.

Oil-related issues fell as global oil prices declined. In New York on Thursday, the price of crude oil fell below US$49 per barrel for the first time in a month on news of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's deteriorating health at a hospital in Paris.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar was quoted at 106.10 yen, down 0.24 yen from late Thursday in Tokyo but above the 105.99 yen it bought in New York Thursday

Australian shares edged up to its eighth consecutive record close, lifted by gains in News Corp. and the banking sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 5.00 points, or 0.13%, to 3,843.50.

Indonesian shares also ended at a fresh record high as overnight gains in New York spurred buying of select local blue chips.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite rose 5.30 points, or 0.6%, to 893.63.

In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng Index rose 125.86 points, or 0.94%, to 13,494.95. On Thursday, the index had lost 28.58 points, or 0.21%.

Brokers said investors took their cue from Thursday's surge on Wall Street where the Dow Jones industrial average rose 177.71, or 1.75%, to 10,314.76, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 19.30, or 0.96%, to 2,023.63.

Singapore shares closed slightly higher. The Straits Times Index rose 5.12 points, or 0.3%, to 2,015.77.

Philippine shares closed slightly lower, with investors spooked by security concerns following grenade attacks at the offices of two of the country's largest oil companies. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 2.69 points, or 0.2%, to 1,817.52.

Taiwan shares closed higher. The Weighted Price Index rose 70.58 points, or 1.2%, to 5,931.31.

New Zealand shares closed lower. The NZSX-50 Gross Index fell 11.76 points, or 0.40%, to 2,873.00.

South Korean shares closed higher on a drop in global oil prices overnight. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, rose 1.1%, or 9.48 points, to 860.68.

Malaysian shares closed marginally lower on profit-taking. The Composite Index of 100 blue chip stocks fell 0.54 point, or 0.06%, to 871.48.

Thai shares closed slightly lower. The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index fell 4.04 points, or 0.6%, to 635.09.

Later Story:	Thai Shares End Dn Led By Energy Stks; Unrest In South-2- (Dow Jones)
Earlier Story:	Bangkok Bk Has No Plan To Hike Rates Despite Rival Moves (Dow Jones)