1.   Also helping sentiment, he said, investors expect the central bank could push interest rates lower by the end of January.

2.   Cuts to interest rates in Sweden and Spain also helped sentiment.

3.   The tax reductions helped sentiment toward consumer stocks.

4.   Possibly helping sentiment this morning were some more strong profit reports on the first three months of the year, this time from Citigroup and Ford Motor.

5.   A big drop by blue-chips on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday helped fuel sentiment against the yen.

6.   A shakeout in bonds had not helped sentiment recently and the corrections are likely to be sharp given the prior gains.

7.   A relative strength in futures prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Monday also helped sentiment in Tokyo, they said.

8.   Also helping market sentiment was a strengthening of futures prices.

9.   Also helping sentiment was the easing of fears of another sharp plunge in the South Korean stock market and a further rise in the dollar, traders said.

10.   Dealers said sentiment was helped by more evidence that President Suharto is in good health.