WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
WORLD> Asia-Pacific
|
|
World stock markets open 2009 on high note
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-02 19:54 Among the top gainers were Chinese telecom firms after Beijing said Wednesday it had OK'd licenses for next-generation mobile phone services. China Mobile, the world's biggest phone carrier by subscribers, gained 4.8 percent and China Unicom soared 8.8 percent.
Shares in energy and metal producers were buoyed by a jump in commodity prices earlier this week, with Chinese upstream producer CNOOC up 4.8 percent and Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the country's No. 2 oil company, adding 1.7 percent. In South Korea, Hyundai Motor Co. soared 6.2 percent after Myung-bak said the government will drastically increase spending and take steps to provide sufficient liquidity to the currency market, boost domestic demand, keep jobs and support smaller firms. "I won't neglect even for a moment checking the economic situation and drawing up countermeasures and implementing them," Lee said. "It's time for us to unite." Wednesday in New York, Wall Street finished its last trading day in 2008 with a modest gain. The Dow rose 108.00, or 1.3 percent, to 8,776.39, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 12.61, or 1.4 percent, to 903.25. US markets were set to build on Wednesday's gains as Wall Street futures rose. Oil prices eased in Asian trade, with light, sweet crude for February delivery down $2.74 at $41.86. The contract rocketed on New Year's Eve to settle $5.57 higher at $44.60. In currencies, the dollar strengthened to 91.14 yen, up from 90.73 yen and the euro was lower at $1.3924.
|
