P246 CEEFAX 246 Thu 4 Nov 21:14/42 1/3 FAR EAST STOCKS Tokyo (Close): A wave of arbitrage unwinding left stocks lower. The Nikkei closed below the 19,000- point mark for the first time since 31 March, retreating 431.45 points (2.2%) to close at 18,949.79. Volume was put at some 230m shares. Honk Kong (Close): Stocks finished sharply lower for the second day in a row despite having found support at the day's lower levels. The blue chip Hank Sing Index ended 147.23 (1.6%) adrift at 9,204.88. World indices 243 Headlines 201 Forex World Indices London ExchangesP246 CEEFAX 246 Thu 4 Nov 21:15/16 2/3 FA EASTSTOCKS Australia (Close): Shares eased for a third straight day. The all ordinaries index closed 6.8 points lower at 2,101.6 after being down 21.6 points at one stage. Market leader BHP closed 8c adrift at A$17.48. News Corp, too, eased, falling a further 18c to 10.86. Singapore (Close): Sharer finished lower but off their lows in hjavz volume. The Straits Times industrial index was down 3.58 points at 2,123.85. World indices 243 Headlines 201 Forex World Indices London ExchangesP246 CJEFAX 246 Thu 4 Nov 21:15/36 3/3 EUROPEAN STOCKS Frankfurt (Close): German shares fell back after the weak dollar sparked bouts of profit-taking. Overnight declines on Wall Street and Tokyo also weighed on stocks. The lack of a rate move from the Bundesbank was of little surprise. The DAX index finished the session 21.75 points lower at 2,062.61. Paris (Close): The CAC 40 index closed 35.97 lower at 2,135.97 as investors responded to declines on Wall Street. World indices 243 Headlines 201 Forex World Indices London Exchanges