Honda, Sony Make Hefty Gains On Weakening Yen
DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Honda and consumer electronics powerhouse Sony helped the Japanese market end the day higher today.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Dalton Tanonaka sums up the day in Asia for us now from our studios in Hong Kong. Good morning, Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, David. Good morning, Deborah. Several major Asian markets opened the week with strong performances. Tokyo closed more than one percent higher after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hinted that the government may consider market-boosting measures. Leading the winners there were major exporters Toyota and Sony, both making hefty gains on the weakening yen, as their products become less expensive overseas. The Japanese currency fell to a 17-month low against the dollar at 119.39, but it later strengthened a bit to settle at 118.94. Wireless giant NTT DoCoMo wasn't part of the Nikkei's move higher; it lost a half percent, as investors sold that stock ahead of a new share offering announced last Friday. The company will be floating 460,000 new shares to raise nearly $7 billion for overseas investments. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed flat, but heavy selling hit Pacific Century CyberWorks. That Internet and telecom company tumbled more than 7 1/2 percent due to worries that Britain's Cable & Wireless will be unloading up to 7.7 percent worth of those shares by the end of next month. That's when a lock-up expires. Heavy overseas buying fueled a rally in South Korea. The main Kospi Index advancing nearly two percent, while the tech-laden Kosdaq surged more than seven percent. State-run carrier Korea Telecom jumped 6 1/2 percent. Chipmaker Hyundai Electronics Industries shot up more than 12 1/2 percent. And that's our Monday look at the markets here in Asia. Back to you in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right.</s>HAFFENREFFER: All right, thank you very much, Dalton.