HONG KONG, Jan 5: Asian stock markets began the year with strong gains on Monday as investors sought to put a wretched 2008 behind them and followed a rally on Wall Street.

As confidence was boosted by hopes ahead of the upcoming inauguration of US president-elect Barack Obama, Tokyo posted its highest close for two months, helping regional markets post healthy gains.

The Nikkei closed a half-day session, the first of the year, 2.07 per cent higher, while Hong Kong added 3.5 per cent, following a strong 4.6 per cent jump on Friday.

Singapore soared 5.2 per cent after heavy gains Friday, while Shanghai added 3.29 per cent, Taipei 2.33 per cent and Seoul 1.4 per cent.

However, Sydney was unable to hold early advances and closed 0.7 per cent off.

The Japanese index finished above the 9,000 mark for the first time since November 10 as hopes mounted that the world economy will start to recover later this year.

Tokyo was also helped by the dollar gaining ground against the yen as a weaker Japanese currency helps exporters.

TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose 2.07 per cent.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index gained 183.56 points to 9,043.12.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 16.67 points, or 1.94 per cent, to 875.91.

Toyota Motor firmed 3.6 per cent to 3,010 yen, Nissan Motor rose 4.1 per cent to 333 yen and Honda Motor added 2.7 per cent to 1,958 yen.

HONG KONG: Shares closed 3.5 per cent higher.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 520.50 points at its high of 15,563.31, after hitting a low of 15,128.32.

Turnover was 49.42 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$6.34bn).

Chinese telecoms firms extended gains on expectations China will soon issue third-generation mobile licences.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices shed 0.7 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 26.8 points to 3,687.0 while the broader All Ordinaries fell 16.8 points to 3,638.9.

The index began strong but it was unable to maintain the gains amid profit-taking on very thin turnover of 1.45 billion shares worth 2.25 billion dollars (1.6 billion US).

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto closed up 3.4 per cent at 31.63 and 8.6 per cent at 42.30

respectively.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares rose 2.9 per cent.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 26.30 points to close at 920.66, finishing above the 900-point level for the first time since November 10.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares surged six per cent.

On the first trading day of 2009 the Jakarta Composite Index rose 81.93 points to 1,437.34.

Bank Mandiri advanced 8.6 per cent to 2,200 rupiah and Bank Rakyat rose six per cent to 4,850.

Telkom ended up 5.8 per cent at 7,300.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.07 per cent higher.

The benchmark NZX-50 index rose 29.18 points to close at 2,744.89 on light turnover worth 35.8 million dollars (US$21.1 m).

Market heavyweight Telecom closed unchanged at 2.29 dollars. Contact Energy rose 10 cents to 7.43 dollars.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed 3.4 per cent higher following the announcement of the government’s fresh economic stimulus package, dealers said.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex index closed 334.32 points higher at 10,292.54.—AFP