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Asia holds onto winning ways
(CNN) -- Asia's biggest markets again closed higher Thursday, despite a dip on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei came back from an early fall to put on 1.65 percent. South Korea showed the region's biggest gain, with the Kospi up almost 2 percent on the strength of a 3 percent jump for Samsung Electronics. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average finished higher for a fifth straight day, up 1.65 percent to 9913.47. Observers say the 10,000 mark -- briefly reached in early July -- may now be in sight once again. The broader Topix index rose 1.49 percent to 965.94, helped by gains for industrials and selected techs. Elsewhere in the region, Singapore rose almost half a percent and Hong Kong finished 0.7 percent higher. Taiwan slipped just 0.1 percent into the red after being ahead for much of the day. Australia fell 0.24 percent and New Zealand had the day's biggest fall, down 0.58 percent. The moves in Asia followed a down day on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average slipping 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ending virtually flat, off 0.02 percent. (Full story) A resurgence in bond yields raised concern that higher borrowing costs could choke off a U.S. economic recovery. But U.S. President George W. Bush defended his economic policy Wednesday, saying he was optimistic about job creation. (Full story) In Tokyo, big bank UFJ Holdings, which rose more than 9 percent Wednesday and 8 percent on Tuesday, put on another 5 percent to 279,000 yen -- a 2003 high -- after dipping in early trade. Mizuho Holdings was up about 1 percent and there were gains of 4.4 percent and 2.2 percent respectively for MTFG and SMFG. Industrial stocks found favor with investors, encouraged by this week's upbeat GDP data. (Full story) Kobe Steel was up 3.7 percent to 139 yen. Rival Nippon Steel finished 2 percent ahead to 202 yen. Automakers also finished higher after a shaky start, with Toyota and Nissan up 2.5 percent and a 1.9 percent rise for Honda. In the tech sector, big exporter Sony rose 2.5 percent to 3720 yen, and NEC put on 5 percent. Hitachi, Fujitsu, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Toshiba were also higher. The market's biggest stock, NTT DoCoMo, added 2 percent to 293,000 yen. In Seoul, the Kospi ended 1.95 percent higher at 727.01, with a gain of 3 percent to 425,000 won for market heavyweight Samsung Electronics. Big exporter Hyundai Motor rose 2.8 percent to 35,200 won, while SK Telecom was up slightly to 194,500 won. Leading bank Shinhan added 1.7 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX200 dipped 0.24 percent to 3150.4. Media group News Corp, which posted record earnings of $1.8 billion, fell 1.2 percent to A$12.23 after a runup earlier in the week. (Full story) Leading retailer Coles Myer rose 2.3 percent to A$7.42 after posting a 6 percent lift in full-year sales. (Full story) Resources giant BHP Billiton ended 0.5 percent higher at A$10.20. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.7 percent to 10,374.02, with conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa ending half a percent higher at HK$51.50 and a 1.5 percent gain for big bank HSBC. China Mobile, which may buy more provincial networks, fell 1.3 percent to HK$19.10. (Full story) Singapore's Straits Times index was 0.47 percent higher at 1598.97, helped by a 9.27 percent gain for Creative Technology and a 4.24 percent rise for leading bank DBS. Singapore Airlines dipped 0.90 percent to S$11. In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 0.1 percent to 5436.75, with some techs showing gains. AU Optronics was up 1.7 percent to T$41.40. Chip foundries TSMC and UMC were up 0.8 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. New Zealand's Top 50 ended 0.58 percent lower at 2204.73 to register the region's biggest fall.
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