[ Tokyo/NNP stocks/NNS ] fell/VBD sharply/RB as/IN [ the/DT dollar/NN ] remained/VBD strong/RB despite/IN [ Wednesday/NNP 's/POS half-point/JJ discount/NN rate/NN increase/NN ] by/IN [ the/DT Bank/NNP ] of/IN [ Japan/NNP ] ./. [ London/NNP shares/NNS ] recovered/VBD [ some/DT lost/VBN ground/NN ] ,/, largely/RB on/IN [ technical/JJ factors/NNS ] as/IN [ Chancellor/NNP Nigel/NNP Lawson/NNP 's/POS speech/NN ] to/TO [ the/DT Conservative/NNP Party/NNP conference/NN ] was/VBD viewed/VBN as/RB basically/RB neutral/JJ for/IN [ the/DT market/NN ] ./. [ Tokyo/NNP 's/POS Nikkei/NNP Index/NNP ] of/IN [ 225/CD issues/NNS ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] fell/VBD [ 136.28/CD points/NNS Wednesday/NNP ] ,/, closed/VBD at/IN [ 34795.05/CD ] ,/, down/IN [ 445.02/CD ] ./. [ The/DT decline/NN ] of/IN nearly/RB [ 1.3/CD %/NN ] left/VBD [ the/DT index/NN ] below/IN [ 35000/CD ] for/IN [ the/DT first/JJ time/NN ] since/IN [ Sept./NNP 25/CD ] ./. In/IN [ the/DT first/JJ hour/NN ] of/IN trading/NN in/IN [ Tokyo/NNP Friday/NNP ] ,/, [ the/DT Nikkei/NNP Index/NNP ] rose/VBD [ 145.96/CD points/NNS ] to/TO [ 34941.01/CD ] ./. [ Thursday/NNP 's/POS volume/NN ] on/IN [ the/DT first/JJ section/NN ] was/VBD estimated/VBN at/IN [ 650/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] ,/, compared/VBN with/IN [ 751/CD million/CD Wednesday/NNP ] ./. Declining/VBG [ issues/NNS ] outpaced/VBP [ advancers/NNS 857-161/CD ] ,/, with/IN [ 110/CD unchanged/JJ ] ./. [ The/DT Tokyo/NNP Stock/NNP Price/NNP Index/NNP ] of/IN [ all/DT issues/NNS ] in/IN [ the/DT first/JJ section/NN ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] lost/VBD [ 13.07/CD Wednesday/NNP ] ,/, was/VBD down/IN [ 36.89/CD ] ,/, or/CC [ 1.4/CD %/NN ] ,/, to/TO [ 2623.60/CD ] ./. [ The/DT market/NN ] opened/VBD at/IN [ what/WP ] proved/VBN to/TO be/VB its/PRP$ high/RB and/CC continued/VBD to/TO slip/VB toward/IN [ the/DT end/NN ] of/IN [ the/DT day/NN ] ./. [ Traders/NNS ] said/VBD [ the/DT reason/NN its/PRP$ drop/NN ] was/VBD larger/JJR than/IN [ Wednesday/NNP 's/POS moderate/JJ loss/NN ] was/VBD that/IN [ investors/NNS ] began/VBD selling/VBG [ their/PRP$ holdings/NNS ] when/WRB [ they/PRP ] saw/VBD that/IN [ Wednesday/NNP 's/POS rise/NN ] to/TO [ 3.75/CD %/NN ] in/IN [ the/DT discount/NN rate/NN ] --/: [ the/DT central/JJ bank/NN 's/POS base/NN rate/NN ] on/IN [ loans/NNS ] to/TO [ commercial/JJ banks/NNS ] --/: failed/VBD to/TO curb/VB [ the/DT dollar/NN 's/POS rise/NN ] against/IN [ the/DT yen/NN ] ./. [ A/DT stronger/JJR dollar/NN ] concerns/VBZ [ Japanese/JJ stock/NN investors/NNS ] because/IN [ it/PRP ] contributes/VBZ to/TO [ Japanese/JJ inflation/NN ] ,/, particularly/RB by/IN [ raising/VBG oil/NN ] and/CC [ other/JJ energy/NN ] and/CC [ natural/JJ resource/NN prices/NNS ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] are/VBP denominated/VBN in/IN [ dollars/NNS ] ./. In/IN [ addition/NN ] ,/, [ higher/JJR prices/NNS ] for/IN [ imports/NNS ] allow/VBP [ domestic/JJ manufacturers/NNS ] to/TO increase/VB [ their/PRP$ own/JJ prices/NNS ] ./. Moreover/RB ,/, [ the/DT current/JJ high/JJ level/NN ] of/IN [ the/DT U.S./NNP stock/NN market/NN ] ,/, and/CC [ the/DT possibility/NN ] of/IN [ U.S./NNP interest/NN rates/NNS ] being/VBG [ cut/NN ] or/CC [ Japanese/JJ rates/NNS ] being/VBG raised/VBN again/RB to/TO keep/VB [ the/DT dollar/NN ] down/IN ,/, might/MD draw/VB [ funds/NNS ] currently/RB invested/VBN in/IN [ Japanese/JJ equities/NNS ] into/IN [ the/DT U.S./NNP market/NN ] ,/, [ some/DT investors/NNS ] fear/VBP ./. [ Masami/NNP Okuma/NNP ] ,/, [ senior/JJ trader/NN ] at/IN [ UBS/NNP Phillips/NNP ] &/CC [ Drew/NNP International/NNP ] ,/, said/VBD [ expectations/NNS ] of/IN [ another/DT increase/NN ] in/IN [ the/DT discount/NN rate/NN ] already/RB are/VBP causing/VBG [ some/DT investors/NNS ] not/RB only/RB to/TO stop/VB buying/VBG but/CC also/RB to/TO dump/VB [ some/DT ] of/IN [ their/PRP$ ] recently/RB acquired/VBN [ shares/NNS ] ./. [ Yoshiaki/NNP Mitsuoka/NNP ] ,/, [ manager/NN ] of/IN [ the/DT investment/NN information/NN department/NN ] at/IN [ Daiwa/NNP Investment/NNP Trust/NNP ] &/CC [ Management/NNP Co./NNP ] ,/, said/VBD [ the/DT market/NN ] had/VBD been/VBN sustained/VBN recently/RB by/IN [ smaller/JJR issues/NNS ] with/IN relatively/RB [ low/JJ price-earnings/JJ ratios/NNS ] ./. [ Prices/NNS ] of/IN [ such/JJ shares/NNS ] ,/, [ he/PRP ] said/VBD ,/, now/RB have/VBP risen/VBN [ an/DT average/NN ] of/IN [ 57/CD %/NN ] in/IN [ the/DT past/JJ six/CD months/NNS ] ,/, making/VBG [ them/PRP ] less/RBR attractive/JJ for/IN [ fresh/JJ buying/NN ] ./. [ Yukio/NNP Itagaki/NNP ] ,/, [ director/NN ] of/IN [ the/DT fund/NN management/NN department/NN ] at/IN [ Kokusai/NNP Investment/NNP Trust/NNP Management/NNP Co./NNP ] ,/, said/VBD [ the/DT discount/NN rate/NN increase/NN ] did/VBD n't/RB have/VB [ much/JJ effect/NN ] on/IN [ the/DT actual/JJ market/NN environment/NN ] ,/, as/IN [ short-term/JJ interest/NN rates/NNS ] already/RB had/VBD been/VBN above/IN [ 5/CD %/NN ] ./. And/CC as/IN [ the/DT rate/NN ] on/IN newly/RB issued/VBN [ three-month/JJ certificates/NNS ] of/IN [ deposit/NN ] went/VBD up/IN to/TO [ 6.2/CD %/NN Wednesday/NNP ] ,/, [ institutions/NNS ] and/CC [ corporations/NNS ] had/VBD [ little/JJ incentive/NN ] to/TO invest/VB [ new/JJ funds/NNS ] in/IN [ stocks/NNS ] ./. [ The/DT higher/JJR discount/NN rate/NN ] discouraged/VBD [ institutions/NNS ] from/IN [ holding/VBG steel/NN ] and/CC [ construction/NN shares/NNS ] ,/, [ traders/NNS ] said/VBD ./. [ Nippon/NNP Steel/NNP ] fell/VBD [ 10/CD ] to/TO [ 698/CD yen/NN ] (/( [ $/$ 4.83/CD ] )/) [ a/DT share/NN ] ,/, [ Sumitomo/NNP Metal/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 19/CD ] to/TO [ 677/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Kobe/NNP Steel/NNP ] was/VBD down/IN [ 9/CD ] at/IN [ 690/CD ] ./. [ Kajima/NNP ] was/VBD down/IN [ 100/CD ] at/IN [ 1,900/CD ] ,/, while/IN [ Ohbayashi/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 60/CD ] to/TO [ 1,500/CD ] ./. [ Shipbuilding/NN issues/NNS ] also/RB were/VBD sold/VBN off/IN ./. [ Kawasaki/NNP Heavy/NNP Industries/NNPS ] fell/VBD [ 37/CD ] to/TO [ 903/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Mitsubishi/NNP Heavy/NNP Industries/NNPS ] was/VBD down/IN [ 30/CD ] at/IN [ 1,010/CD ] ./. Among/IN housing/NN [ issues/NNS ] ,/, [ Misawa/NNP Homes/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 140/CD ] to/TO [ 2,830/CD ] ,/, [ Sekisui/NNP House/NNP ] declined/VBD [ 70/CD ] to/TO [ 2,400/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Daiwa/NNP House/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 100/CD ] to/TO [ 2,470/CD ] ./. [ Retail/JJ issues/NNS ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] advanced/VBD in/IN [ September/NNP ] on/IN [ speculation/NN ] about/IN [ mergers/NNS ] and/CC [ acquisitions/NNS ] in/IN [ the/DT sector/NN ] ,/, were/VBD sold/VBN on/IN [ profit-taking/NN ] ,/, [ traders/NNS ] said/VBD ./. [ Seiyu/NNP ] was/VBD down/IN [ 240/CD ] at/IN [ 2,710/CD ] ,/, [ Daiei/NNP ] fell/VBD [ 70/CD ] to/TO [ 2,980/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Isetan/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 170/CD ] to/TO [ 4,720/CD ] ./. [ Some/DT ] of/IN [ the/DT blue-chip/JJ issues/NNS ] [ that/WDT ] had/VBD gained/VBN in/IN [ the/DT previous/JJ couple/NN ] of/IN [ days/NNS ] were/VBD lower/JJR as/IN [ investors/NNS ] retreated/VBD quickly/RB ./. [ Hitachi/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 10/CD ] to/TO [ 1,510/CD ] ,/, [ Toshiba/NNP ] was/VBD down/IN [ 40/CD ] at/IN [ 1,130/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Toyota/NNP Motor/NNP ] lost/VBD [ 30/CD ] to/TO [ 2,820/CD ] ./. Among/IN [ the/DT few/JJ winners/NNS ] was/VBD [ Sharp/NNP ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] attracted/VBD [ investors/NNS ] because/IN of/IN [ growing/VBG demand/NN ] for/IN [ its/PRP$ liquid/JJ crystal/NN projectors/NNS ] ,/, [ traders/NNS ] said/VBD ./. [ Sharp/NNP ] gained/VBD [ 20/CD ] to/TO [ 1,550/CD ] ./. [ Other/JJ gainers/NNS ] included/VBD [ Nippon/NNP Shokubai/NNP ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] rose/VBD [ 70/CD ] to/TO [ 2,270/CD ] ,/, [ Nikon/NNP ] ,/, up/IN [ 30/CD ] to/TO [ 1,620/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ Aiwa/NNP ] ,/, [ which/WDT ] gained/VBD [ 120/CD ] to/TO [ 2,000/CD ] ./. In/IN [ London/NNP ] ,/, [ the/DT Financial/NNP Times-Stock/NNP Exchange/NNP 100-share/JJ index/NN ] finished/VBD [ 19/CD points/NNS ] higher/JJR at/IN [ 2237.8/CD ] ./. [ The/DT Financial/NNP Times/NNP 30-share/JJ index/NN ] rose/VBD [ 20.4/CD ] to/TO [ 1817.7/CD ] ./. [ Volume/NN ] was/VBD [ 437.4/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] ,/, down/IN from/IN [ 503.2/CD million/CD Wednesday/NNP ] ./. [ Chancellor/NNP Lawson/NNP ] ,/, [ who/WP ] has/VBZ been/VBN under/IN [ political/JJ fire/NN ] for/IN [ his/PRP$ decision/NN ] [ a/DT week/NN ] ago/IN to/TO force/VB [ U.K./NNP banks/NNS '/POS base/NN ] lending/NN [ rates/NNS ] up/IN to/TO [ 15/CD %/NN ] ,/, [ an/DT eight-year/JJ high/JJ ] ,/, addressed/VBD [ the/DT governing/VBG Conservatives/NNS '/POS annual/JJ conference/NN ] on/IN [ current/JJ economic/JJ issues/NNS ] ,/, and/CC [ dealers/NNS ] said/VBD [ the/DT speech/NN ] was/VBD exactly/RB [ what/WP ] [ the/DT market/NN ] had/VBD expected/VBN ./. ``/`` [ It/PRP ] was/VBD [ a/DT good/JJ party/NN political/JJ conference/NN speech/NN ] ,/, ''/'' [ a/DT dealer/NN ] with/IN [ a/DT large/JJ U.K./NNP market-making/NN operation/NN ] said/VBD ./. ``/`` [ He/PRP ] did/VBD n't/RB calm/VB [ any/DT fears/NNS ] or/CC [ anxieties/NNS ] ,/, but/CC at/IN [ least/JJS ] [ he/PRP ] did/VBD n't/RB create/VB [ any/DT new/JJ ones/NNS ] ./. ''/'' [ Dealers/NNS ] attributed/VBD [ the/DT day/NN 's/POS advances/NNS ] largely/RB to/TO [ a/DT technical/JJ rebound/NN ] from/IN [ the/DT sharp/JJ declines/NNS ] [ that/WDT ] followed/VBD [ last/JJ week/NN 's/POS base-rate/JJ increase/NN ] ./. [ They/PRP ] also/RB cited/VBD [ markdowns/NNS ] by/IN [ market-makers/NNS ] seeking/VBG to/TO generate/VB [ some/DT business/NN ] and/CC [ a/DT general/JJ absence/NN ] of/IN [ active/JJ selling/NN ] ./. [ There/EX ] was/VBD also/RB [ some/DT speculative/JJ energy/NN ] [ that/WDT ] helped/VBD to/TO support/VB [ the/DT FT-SE/NNP 100/CD ] later/RB in/IN [ the/DT session/NN ] ,/, when/WRB [ Wall/NNP Street/NNP ] showed/VBD [ signs/NNS ] of/IN [ weakness/NN ] early/RB in/IN [ its/PRP$ trading/NN day/NN ] ./. [ That/DT energy/NN ] came/VBD in/IN [ part/NN ] from/IN [ renewed/VBN rumors/NNS ] that/IN [ U.S./NNP takeover/NN specialists/NNS Kohlberg/NNP Kravis/NNP Roberts/NNP ] are/VBP preparing/VBG to/TO make/VB [ a/DT takeover/NN bid/NN ] for/IN [ industrial/JJ concern/NN BTR/NNP ] rather/RB than/IN simply/RB take/VB [ a/DT 15/CD %/NN stake/NN ] in/IN [ it/PRP ] ./. [ Dealers/NNS ] also/RB pointed/VBD to/TO [ active/JJ options/NNS ] dealing/VBG in/IN [ the/DT stock/NN ] recently/RB and/CC said/VBD [ some/DT ] of/IN [ the/DT options/NNS ] had/VBD been/VBN exercised/VBN ./. [ BTR/NNP ] ended/VBD [ 7/CD higher/JJR ] at/IN [ 437/CD pence/NN ] (/( [ $/$ 6.76/CD ] )/) [ a/DT share/NN ] ./. [ Ferranti/NNP International/NNP Signal/NNP ] rose/VBD [ 1/CD 1\/2/CD ] to/TO [ 58/CD ] on/IN [ 8.5/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] ./. [ British/NNP Aerospace/NNP ] said/VBD earlier/RBR in/IN [ the/DT week/NN ] that/IN [ it/PRP ] was/VBD considering/VBG making/VBG [ a/DT joint/JJ bid/NN ] with/IN [ France/NNP 's/POS Thomson-CSF/NNP ] for/IN [ Ferranti/NNP ] ./. [ ASDA/NNP Group/NNP ] ,/, [ a/DT U.K./NNP food/NN retailer/NN ] ,/, closed/VBD [ 4/CD higher/JJR ] at/IN [ 163/CD ] after/IN [ holders/NNS ] approved/VBD [ the/DT company/NN 's/POS acquisition/NN ] of/IN [ 61/CD stores/NNS ] from/IN [ Isosceles/NNP ] ./. [ ASDA/NNP ] was/VBD relatively/RB active/JJ at/IN [ 6.3/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] ./. [ Other/JJ companies/NNS ] in/IN [ the/DT food/NN sector/NN ] also/RB firmed/VBD on/IN [ active/JJ volume/NN ] ,/, with/IN [ Argyll/NNP Group/NNP ] gaining/VBG [ 8/CD ] to/TO [ 223/CD ] ,/, [ Tesco/NNP ] up/IN [ 1\/2/CD ] to/TO [ 194/CD 1\/2/CD ] and/CC [ J./NNP Sainsbury/NNP ] advancing/VBG [ 3/CD ] to/TO [ 255/CD ] ./. [ Blue-chip/JJ issues/NNS ] attracted/VBD [ institutions/NNS ] looking/VBG for/IN [ defensive/JJ positions/NNS ] amid/IN [ the/DT current/JJ doubts/NNS ] about/IN [ the/DT future/NN ] of/IN [ the/DT U.K./NNP economy/NN ] ,/, [ dealers/NNS ] said/VBD ./. [ British/NNP Steel/NNP ] edged/VBD [ 2/CD higher/JJR ] to/TO [ 126/CD 1\/2/CD ] on/IN [ 8.3/CD million/CD shares/NNS ] ,/, [ British/NNP Telecommuncations/NNPS ] settled/VBD [ 6/CD higher/JJR ] at/IN [ 268/CD ] ,/, and/CC [ British/NNP Petroleum/NNP ] gained/VBD [ 1/CD ] to/TO [ 307/CD 1\/2/CD ] ./. In/IN [ other/JJ European/JJ markets/NNS ] ,/, [ share/NN prices/NNS ] ended/VBD higher/JJR in/IN [ Frankfurt/NNP ] ,/, lower/JJR in/IN [ Paris/NNP ] ,/, [ Brussels/NNP ] and/CC [ Amsterdam/NNP ] and/CC mixed/VBN in/IN [ Stockholm/NNP ] ,/, [ Milan/NNP ] and/CC [ Zurich/NNP ] ./. [ South/JJ African/JJ gold/NN stocks/NNS ] were/VBD slightly/RB firmer/JJR ./. Elsewhere/RB ,/, [ stocks/NNS ] rose/VBD in/IN [ Taipei/NNP ] ,/, [ Singapore/NNP ] ,/, [ Seoul/NNP ] and/CC [ Manila/NNP ] and/CC were/VBD lower/JJR in/IN [ Hong/NNP Kong/NNP ] ,/, [ Wellington/NNP ] and/CC [ Sydney/NNP ] ./. Here/RB are/VBP [ price/NN trends/NNS ] on/IN [ the/DT world/NN 's/POS major/JJ stock/NN markets/NNS ] ,/, as/IN calculated/VBN by/IN [ Morgan/NNP Stanley/NNP Capital/NNP International/NNP Perspective/NNP ] ,/, [ Geneva/NNP ] ./. To/TO make/VB [ them/PRP ] directly/RB [ comparable/JJ ] ,/, [ each/DT index/NN ] is/VBZ based/VBN on/IN [ the/DT close/NN ] of/IN [ 1969/CD ] equaling/VBG [ 100/CD ] ./. [ The/DT percentage/NN change/NN ] is/VBZ since/IN [ year-end/NN ] ./.