Taipei - Taiwan stocks opened higher Wednesday after Tuesday's big Wall Street rally.

After the Taipei stock market opened at 9 am, the benchmark TAIEX quickly surged as much as 7 per cent higher. One hour into trading, TAIEX eased to 4,536.17, still up 136.2 points, or 3.1 per cent, from Tuesday's closing figure.

Analysts attributed the TAIEX surge to Tuesday's rally on Wall Street.

Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysia's share market dropped 3.1 per cent Tuesday on panic selling by investors concerned over a dismal global economic outlook, said dealers.

Singapore  - An afternoon buying spree Tuesday brought some relief to Singapore's battered Straits Times Index, which nosedived in the first hour of trading.

The index made a turnaround, gaining 66.21 points, or 4.41 per cent, to close at 1,666.49.

The index had dropped to a low of 1,475.86 within the first hour of trading to start the week on a bearish note after being closed Monday for a holiday.

A total of 1,490.5 million shares were traded on the Singapore Exchange with 364 stocks recording losses and 205 managing gains.

Bangkok  - Thai shares rose 2.74 per cent Tuesday in a slight rebound that underperformed most other Asian markets.

Paris  - French shares were little changed in early trading on Tuesday following a roller-coaster ride as the mood among investors remained nervous.

The Paris Bourse's CAC 40 index was up 0.07 per cent, at 3,069.36, at mid-morning, with advancing issues outpacing losers by nearly 2 to 1.

Bouyed by strong showings on Asian markets, the index rose more than 3 per cent shortly after the session opened, but then fell into the red after a report showing that the financial crisis was now affecting the French housing market.

According to the Ministry of the Environment, building permits for the third quarter fell by more than 23 per cent over the same period in 2007, while housing-construction starts had fallen by more than 8 per cent.

Jakarta - Indonesian stocks dropped by more than 4 per cent Tuesday, counter to the rebound experienced by most Asian markets, while the country's currency fell sharply to reach its lowest since July 2001.

The Jakarta Composite Index fell to a new low, closing at 1,111.39, down 55.02 points, or 4.72 per cent.

Indonesian President Susilo Bamband Yudhoyono said that he might outline steps to help the embattled rupiah later Tuesday.

"We will do everything to save our economy," Yudhoyono told reporters, without saying what steps he had in mind. He added that Bank Indonesia and economic advisors were in a meeting to discuss measures to help the local currency.