Asia Roundup: Stocks higher as heavy buying sets in

HONG KONG: Asian markets gained yesterday as bargain-hunters moved in the day after a heavy sell-off, with sentiment boosted by a rally on Wall Street.

Wall Street shares gained 1.28 per cent overnight to snap a three-day losing streak, boosted by a pick-up in merger and acquisition activity.

Investors also awaited the release of data, including US consumer confidence figures, later Tuesday.

TOKYO: Up 0.91 per cent. The Nikkei-225 gained 90.68 points to 10,100.20.

Investors were closely monitoring foreign exchange movements as the dollar rose to 90.01 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 89.58 in New York late Monday, when it had earlier sunk to 88.25.

SYDNEY: Up 1.62 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 put on 75.7 points to 4,753.1 "We had a good lead from Wall Street overnight and have got consumer confidence data coming out in the US tonight which should be fairly positive considering the good run in the market in July and August," said an analyst.

SHANGHAI: Down 0.33 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was down 8.98 points to 2,754.54. Investors fear securities regulators may quicken the pace of initial public offerings for the new index, which will soak up liquidity in the market, dealers said.

SEOUL: Up 0.87 per cent. The KOSPI ended up 14.50 points at 1,690.05. Banks, technology companies and auto firms led gains after recent weakness.

TAIPEI:Up 2.0 per cent. The weighted index rose 145.37 points to 7,429.98. The market was boosted by big caps focusing on flat panels and semiconductors after Taipei said it may ease controls on high-tech investments in China by local companies while allowing further Chinese investments here.Alibaba.com - The largest database of products & suppliers from China

BANGKOK: Up 0.90 per cent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand gained 6.41 points to close at 715.29.

JAKARTA: Up 1.92 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 46.01 points to 2,443.83.

MANILA: Up 0.81 per cent. The composite index gained 22.67 points to 2,807.32.

WELLINGTON: Up 0.77 per cent. The NZX-50 rose 24.22 points to 3,155.39.

MUMBAI: Up 0.96 per cent. The 30-share Sensex index rose 159.91 points to 16,852.91. - AFP