Japan ends year on a high
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Beef restaurant chain Yoshinoya will trim the opening hours of some stores.
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(CNN) -- Japan's share market ended the year on a high Tuesday, pushed up by technology issues after the U.S. Nasdaq index rallied to its highest in almost two years.
The Nikkei 225 average finished the half-day session up 1.68 percent at 10,676.64, giving it a 24.5 percent gain for the full year from its end-December 2002 close.
The broader Topix index was up 1.7 percent at 1,043.69 for the day, extending the previous session's 0.76 percent gain. Its gain for the year was 23.76 percent.
During the year, the Nikkei hit a 20-year low of 7607.88 on April 28, its lowest since November 1982. Its high for the year was 11,161.71 on October 20.
Markets in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia were all higher Tuesday, with South Korea's Kospi up more than 2 percent.
The dollar is trading lower at 107.00 yen Tuesday afternoon in Asia, while the euro is at $1.2493, off a record high of $1.2511 reached Monday. The Australian dollar is at 74.54 U.S. cents, a fresh six-year high.
The gains in Asia followed a strong performance on Wall Street Monday. The Dow rose 1.2 percent to 10,450.00, while the Nasdaq closed above 2000, up almost 1.7 percent to 2006.48. (Full story)
The Tokyo Stock Exchange traded for a half-day session Tuesday before closing for the New Year holiday. Markets will resume on January 5.
Big banks posted some of the day's best gains, with UFJ up 4.9 percent to 515,000 yen and SMFG ahead 4.2 percent to 571,000 yen. Mizuho rose 3.5 percent and MTFG put on 2.3 percent.
The market's biggest stock, mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo, rose 4.3 percent to 243,000 yen. Rival KDDI was up 2.85 percent to 614,000 yen, bringing its gain for the year to almost 60 percent.
Automakers were stronger, with Honda up 2.8 percent to 4760 yen. Nissan gained 0.4 percent to 1224 yen, posting a 32 percent rise for the year.
Consumer electronics leader Sony rose 1.3 percent to 3710 yen but was down 25 percent for the year.
Tech bellwether Advantest put on 1.8 percent to 8500 yen and Tokyo Electron rose 1.37 percent to 8140 yen.
Japanese restaurant operator Yoshinoya D&C Co finished up 0.65 percent at 156,000 yen -- a loss of 11.3 percent for the year.
Yoshinoya said Tuesday it will stop operating some of its beef bowl restaurants late at night because the ban on beef imports from the United States has led to a shortage of beef. It will also expand its menu lineup to include chicken and fish.
Yoshinoya gets about 99 percent of its beef from the United States, which last week discovered its first case of mad cow disease.
Takefuji, whose founder Yasuo Takei was indicted on wiretapping charges earlier this month, finished at 5010 yen, down 27 percent for the year.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 finished 0.41 percent ahead to 3295.1, a two-month high and a gain of 10 percent for the year.
Resources giant BHP Billiton rose 0.7 percent to A$12.25 and was one of the market's best blue-chip performers, up almost 21 percent for the year. Media group News Corp put on 0.67 percent to A$11.98 and was up 4 percent for 2003.
Airline Qantas was down 14 percent for the year at A$3.30.
In Seoul, the Kospi rose 2.31 percent to 810.71. Its gain for the year was 29 percent, with Hyundai Motor one of the top performers, up 83 percent since December 2002. Samsung Electronics rose 43 percent and Shinhan was up 52 percent.
But SK Telecom fell almost 14 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is 1.25 percent ahead to 12,632.90. China Mobile is up 2.8 percent and China Life is up 7 percent to HK$6.85.
In Taiwan, the Taiex was up 1.07 percent to 5866.75, a gain of 31 percent for the year.
Market heavyweight TSMC put on 1.6 percent to T$63.00 Tuesday for a full-year gain of 58 percent. Rival chip foundry UMC finished at T$29.20, up 44 percent for the year.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index is 1.6 percent ahead to 1769.10, up 32 percent for the year. It hit 1804.95 in October, its highest since 1808.16 in April 2002.
