DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Asian markets scored some modest gains overnight.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Dalton Tanonaka sums up the day for us from our studios in Hong Kong -- Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, David. Good morning, Deborah. Tokyo's winning streak continued for a third day as the Nikkei gained nearly two-thirds of a percent. Hefty gains by tech exporters such as NEC drove the market there. Those companies benefit from a weaker yen. And the currency continued to be pressured by the dollar. It hovered near 17-month lows but gained ground in late trading to close at 118.12. Toyota also motored higher. The stock price of Japan's leading automaker zoomed more than 12 1/2 percent, after the company announced it will spend more than $2 billion on a share buyback. New government numbers show the Japanese economy is still struggling. Machinery orders for the month of November unexpectedly fell. Economists say the 2.9 percent drop is a warning sign that corporate capital spending is slowing. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng up almost a half percent, but investors continue to dump Pacific Century CyberWorks on fears that British Telecom Cable & Wireless will unload more than seven percent of its PCCW shares next month. The Internet and telecom giant sank 2 1/3 percent to a new post-merger low of four Hong Kong dollars 10 cents. The biggest gainer in the region: Taiwan. The Taipei Weighted Index soaring more than five percent on hopes that the political situation there would stabilize and more overseas funds would flow in then. And that is the trading day here in Asia. Back to you both in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right.</s>HAFFENREFFER: All right, Dalton, thank you very much.
Asian Markets Score Modest Gains