Around the World's Markets

LONDON

FOOTSIE, drawing a little encouragement from the Japanese election and the International Monetary Fund loan to Russia, gained 28.5 points to 5,958.2. But trading was moderate.

Coca-Cola Beverages, a new issue, accounted for around 25 per cent of turnover. Sold at 160p, the shares touched 192.5p, but then quickly lost much of their sparkle, settling at 169.5p. Banking shares led blue chips as investors positioned themselves ahead of the forthcoming dividend season.

Derek Pain, page 21

NEW YORK

US STOCKS were mixed at midday, as a decline in oil shares tempered a rally in Microsoft and other computer companies, which rose on optimism on their second-half earnings.

Oil shares fell amid speculation that cuts in output from the Opec cartel will not be enough to offset the global excess supply and trigger a rebound in oil prices.

At midday, the Dow was down 5.15 points to 9100.33. The broader Standard & Poor's index rose 0.75 points to 1165.08. The Nasdaq index rallied 16.51 points to 1959.55.

TOKYO

STOCKS ROSE for the first time in three days after the Prime Minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto, resigned to take responsibility for the LDP's rout in Sunday's upper house election. Leading banks, car makers and retailers, which could benefit from tax cuts, led the gains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 270.33 points, or 1.68 per cent, at 16,360.39, buoyed by public sector fund buying. The broader Topix index of all companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 14.94 points, or 1.20 per cent, to 1,256.44.

SOUTH KOREA

THE BENCHMARK Kospi index dropped 3.60 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 301.37 amid concerns over falling exports and rising labour unrest.

The Korean won, which has appreciated by 6.43 per cent against the US dollar in the past month, rose another 0.27 per cent to 1,309.50 to the dollar. A 1 per cent drop in the yen's value against the won causes exports to drop by 0.6 per cent, analysts said. In the first half of the year, Korean exports to Asia declined at an annual rate of 27 per cent.

RUSSIA

MARKETS rallied across Eastern Europe as Russia secured $22.6bn of IMF-led loans for this year and next.

The news sent Moscow-listed stocks soaring: the benchmark RTS Index rose by 9.2 per cent to 157.20, its biggest one-day gain for six weeks. Volume, at $40m (pounds 25m), was strong compared with recent levels, but about half the level traders say the market needs. Russia's debt negotiator, Anatoly Chubais, said the loan deal meant that the government could rule out a devaluation of the rouble.

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