Taiwan stocks finished 1.8 percent higher yesterday with a technical rebound injecting momentum into electronics stocks, dealers said.

The weighted index closed up 82.94 points at the day's high of 4,567.37, off a low of 4,462.21, on turnover of NT$49.69 billion (US$1.43 billion).

"Riding on previous steep corrections, investors have begun to reconsider electronics and are building positions as long-term investments on expectations of improvements next year," Capital Management Manager Johnny Lee said.

Fresh leads such as product price hikes and industry recovery hopes were encouraging factors driving the interest in electronics.

"Liquidity is shifting back into electronics from non-electronics as old-economy stocks have seen a significant boom earlier."

He said non-electronics are poised for consolidation despite the mild bargain-hunting.

Thai Shares End Slightly Higher

Thai share prices closed 0.6 percent higher yesterday, led by finance and building stocks, dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index closed up 1.95 points at 355.36, while the blue chip SET 50 index was up 0.09 points at 22.78.

ABN AMRO Asia Securities Domestic Marketing Vice President Paibool Rachniyom said after a sluggish morning, trading activity picked up with renewed buying across the board, particularly in finance and building stocks.

Advancing stocks led decliners 198 to 43, with 68 stocks unchanged on trade worth 5.76 million lots worth 2.3 billion baht (US$53.5 million).

The banking sector sub-index was up 0.78 points at 145.00, finances were up 20.84 at 1,085.65 and the building sector added 41.41 to finish the day at 4,033.85.

Straits Times Drops Marginally

Singapore share prices edged down 0.4 percent yesterday in light trading with sentiment dampened by a slump in factory output last month, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index closed 5.74 points lower at 1,331.45 and the All-Singapore Equities index fell 0.97 to 345.79.

An unexpected drop in November factory output along with the typical lull in trading interest amid the year-end festive season contributed to the decline, dealers said.

"The market has been extremely quiet and will likely remain so until the New Year holiday," a dealer with a foreign brokerage said.

Nikkei Surge on Tech Rebound

Japanese share prices jumped 2.3 percent yesterday after a technical rebound in quiet holiday trade, dealers said.

The Nikkei-225 average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 198.96 points to end the day at 8,700.10. The broader Topix index of all first section issues was up 15.96 points at 842.96.

"Selling by individual investors eased... the market seems to have seen a rebound today," said Takayuki Suezaki, an investment manager at Nippon Global Securities.

Many overseas markets, including those in the United States, were closed on Wednesday for Christmas.

Gainers led decliners 1,291 to 118, with 80 stocks unchanged. Volume was estimated at a slim 440 million shares.

(Edited from China Daily December 27, 2002)