Hong Kong share prices closed 0.6 percent higher yesterday following technical gains by banking giant HSBC, which offset mild losses in other sectors, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 54.44 points at 9,920.09 on turnover of HK$7.29 billion (US$936 million).

Taiwan Shares Lower Slightly

Taiwan shares fell 0.5 percent yesterday after mild profit-taking with investors turning cautious as the index moved closer to the psychological 5,000 point level, dealers said.

The weighted price index closed down 22.92 points at 4,790.61 on turnover of 105.18 billion Taiwan dollars (US$3 billion).

Before the late-trade profit-taking set in, the market was boosted by the latest gains on Wall Street and Taiwan's better than expected economic growth of 4.77 percent for the third quarter, dealers said.

Advancers led decliners 328 to 321 with 95 unchanged. A total of 59 stocks closed limit-up and 19 limit-down.

Seoul Stocks Close down

South Korean share prices fell 0.9 percent yesterday as investors sold shares in Samsung Electronics Co and SK Telecom Co, dealers said.

The composite index closed down 5.82 points at 667.13. Volume was 658 million shares worth 1.7 trillion won (US$1.4 billion).

"Today's losses were largely viewed as a mere correction to last Friday's sharp gains," Dongbu Securities market analyst Chang Hwa-Tak said. The index jumped 3.2 percent for the weekend.

Chang noted that Wall Street's latest solid performance following a stronger-than-expected consumer confidence index and Nokia's upbeat guidance proved insufficient to reverse the market direction.

Nikkei Dips on Bank Uncertainty

A slump in banking stocks pushed Japanese share prices down 1.9 per cent yesterday as uncertainty mounted over the government's ability to restore the sector to health, dealers said. The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 157.58 points to end the day at 8,346.01, while the Topix index of all first section issues fell 15.50 points to 823.84.

Volume was an estimated 748 million shares. Decliners led gainers 1,170 to 246, while 78 stocks were unchanged.

A relatively solid performance on Wall Street on Friday failed to inspire local investors, who remain concerned about the longer term outlook for the US economy and markets, dealers said.

(China Daily November 19, 2002)