South Korea's Kospi Tops 2,000 for First Time After 39 Percent 2007 Rally

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's benchmark Kospi index
exceeded 2,000 for the first time. It has risen 39 percent so far
this year, the second-best performance among Asia's main stock
indexes after China's CSI 300 Index.

The Kospi index climbed 9.99, or 0.5 percent, to 2,003.04 as
of 9:03 a.m. in Seoul. The Kosdaq added 0.7 percent to 824.46.
Kospi 200 futures expiring in September gained 0.3 percent to
254.25, while the underlying index rose 0.4 percent to 253.27.


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China's Shares Rise to Record on New Investor Inflow; Youngor Leads Gains

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks rose for the 10th day
in the past 11, pushing the benchmark CSI 300 Index to a record
on expectations investors will keep shifting money into equities
from bank deposits. Youngor Group Co. gained.

``Liquidity is still strong and that will continue to push
shares higher,'' said Yan Ji, an investment manager at HSBC
Jintrust Fund Management Co. in Shanghai, which manages about
$517 million.


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China's CSI 300 Drops After Transaction Tax Tripled: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks tumbled the most in
three months after the government tripled the tax on securities
transactions to cool a rally that's drawing more than 300,000 new
investors a day.

The CSI 300 Index dropped 281.83, or 6.8 percent, to close
at 3886.46 in Shanghai, the biggest fluctuation among markets
included in global benchmarks. The value of local stocks has more
than doubled this year to $2.47 trillion and brokerage accounts
topped 100 million for the first time this week.


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