THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: The chip rally sparked by Merrill Lynch spread to Asia overnight sending Tokyo stocks to a three-week high. Lian Pek has a look at the Asian markets -- hi, Lian.</s>LIAN PEK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Deborah. Investors across the region poured money into chip related stocks after a report from top brokerage Merrill Lynch said the worst may be over for the sector. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average jumped 3.6 percent led by chipmakers such as Toshiba and Nikon. Both stocks surging more than 7 percent each. Hitachi gained more than 5 percent while NEC tacked on nearly 4. Taipei's Weighted index rose more than 3 percent to a two-week high. The rally was fueled by gains and memory chipmaker Winbond Electronics, which shot up by its daily limit of 7 percent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and United Microelectronics both adding more than 2 percent. Seoul's composite index rose eight-tenths of a percent. Among the winners in that market, South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor. Its sale price finishing up 4 percent after the company said first half net profits almost doubled to a record $474 million from the previous year. And trading was light in Hong Kong where the Hang Seng slipped a tenth of a percent. Declines in property issues weighing down the index on concerns that weak real estate sales would put pressure on developer's profits. And that's the business day here in Asia. Back to you, Deborah, in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right. Thanks, Lian. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Tokyo Stocks Hit Three-Week High