Tokyo lower as techs decline

Shares in Hitachi dropped again Monday after Friday's earnings warning

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo shares faltered by midday Monday, led down by technology shares such as Sony, Hitachi and Softbank.

Yahoo Japan tumbled 9 percent to 2.02 million yen after announcing the start of a high-speed Internet access service with parent Softbank.

There is growing concern about a second wave of corporate profit warnings; Hitachi lost ground heavily after a hefty loss warning late last week.

The Nikkei ended the morning session down 75.14 points or 0.70 percent at 10,638.37, having fallen as low as 10,630.44, a new 17-year low.

The broader TOPIX index fell 8.62 points or 0.78 percent to 1,095.05.

Australian index down on NAB's 13% fall

Elsewhere in the region, the Australian S&P/ASX200 index was down 131. points or 0.4 percent to 3262.5 after shares in leading bank NAB slumped 13 percent.

The NAB said it would take a $1.75 billion writedown on the value of its U.S. Homeside Lending operation, in what chief executive Frank Cicutto called a disaster and a strategic disappointment for the bank.

In Seoul, the Kospi was down 4.68 points or 0.86 percent to 540.43. Hynix Semiconductor regained some ground, putting on about 0.6 percent to 835 won ahead of a crucial meeting of creditors to discuss a possible rescue package for the embattled chipmaker.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dipped below the psychologically important 11,000 mark after last Friday's disappointing GDP figures.

In Tokyo, analysts see little to ease the gloom.

Economic fundamentals still 'pretty tough'

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index continues to trade well under the 11,000 threshold it breached last week

"Economic fundamentals are pretty tough as was shown in Hitachi's news," said Hidenori Kawasaki, general manager at Kokusai Securities' equities trading division.

"The sole help for the market would be economic policies related to the structural reforms, but the government looks too slow to impress us," he said.

Hitachi fell 9.24 percent to 884 yen, helping send the tech-sensitive benchmark Nikkei 225 down for a fifth straight day despite Friday's minor rebound in U.S. stocks.

On Friday, Hitachi forecast a 140 billion yen ($1.17 billion) consolidated net loss for the business year to March, its second-biggest loss ever, and said it would cut 14,700 jobs, or four percent of its global workforce. The news sent the stock reeling by 4.32 percent on Friday.

More profit revisions ahead

Nikon Corp, one of the world's largest makers of steppers used to etch circuitry onto chips, plunged 11.06 percent to 941 yen after the company said it would announce revised earnings estimates at 5 p.m.Tokyo time.

The announcement is widely expected to be a downward revision as the global info-tech slump has hit its peers including Canon, which in late July slashed earnings estimates for the year to December.

"Concerns remain about the fragile economy and corporate earnings. Especially, profit warnings are likely to spread to non high-tech firms, such as materials," said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of Shinko Securities' equity information section.

Analysts said the yen's recent rise against major currencies added to the gloom on the market as it kept investors away from exporter shares, with consumer electronics giant Sony Corp falling 2.46 percent to 5,160 yen.

A strong yen erodes Japanese exporters' overseas revenues when repatriated into the Japanese currency.

The dollar traded at around 119.13 yen in Asia at midday Monday.

Reuters contributed to this report.