Hong Kong share prices closed slightly higher yesterday in rangebound trading, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 6.12 points or 0.1 percent at 9,971.15, off a high of 10,011.53, on turnover of HK$5.66 billion (US$726 million).

Dealers said turnover failed to provide sufficient momentum for the benchmark index to breach the 10,000-point level.

"Overall, the market is still quite directionless. The 10,000-point level marks a crucial psychological level and thus the resistance will be strong," said Peter Lai, Associate Director at OCBC Securities.

Taipei Shares Close 1.5% Lower

Taiwan share prices fell 1.5 percent yesterday with bellwether electronics stocks leading the decline after falls on Wall Street, dealers said.

The weighted index closed down 73.00 points at 4,653.50 on turnover of 70.45 billion Taiwan dollars (US$2.03 billion).

Financial stocks, which suffered heavy losses on Tuesday due to scepticism over Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's commitment to financial reform, rebounded on bargain-hunting and government support, dealers said.

Fuh Hwa Capital Management Assistant Vice-President Michael Hsu said apart from the weaker NASDAQ, bellwether electronics stocks also extended losses because no fundamental turnaround seemed imminent.

Nikkei Rise Led by Bank Rebound

Japanese share prices rose 1.1 per cent yesterday led by a rebound in bank stocks following soothing comment from government and banking officials, as well as talk of public-pension fund buying, dealers said. But gains were capped as Japan's fundamentals remained weak, they added, a conviction echoed by the Bank of Japan, which lowered its assessment of the economy for the first time in 11 months.

The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 94.36 points to end the day at 8,459.62. The broader Topix index of all first section issues picked itself up from an 18-year low the previous day to gain 13.73 points to 830.82.

Volume was estimated at a strong 940 million shares. Advances outweighed declines by 1,177 to 244, with 66 unchanged.

(Edited by china.org.cn from China Daily November 21, 2002)