Japan, Hong Kong lead Asia to lower close

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Most Asian markets lost ground Monday, as profit warnings and profit taking led the biggest indexes into the red.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was one of the worst performing indexes in the region, closing down 1.7 percent at 10,612.31.

The broader Topix matched that, declining 1.69 percent to 1,082.65.

Hong Kong had the largest losses, with the Hang Seng index off more than 2 percent as the faltering world economy sent investors scurrying to the sidelines.

Australia lost more than half a percent, on a bad day for News Corp., its largest listing.

But New Zealand broke ranks with its neighbor to post a gain of more than one percent, one of the few Asia Pacific markets to rise.

Taiwan and South Korea also posted gains. But Singapore's Straits Times index was off 1.1 percent at 1,395.73 in late trade.

Manila's stock market, near a 10-year low, turned down again after two days of gains that experts said were driven by previous losses.

Toshiba down after earnings on Friday

In Tokyo, Japan's leading chipmaker, Toshiba, lost 5.7 percent to 481 yen. That followed through on Friday's drop after the world chip No. 2 posted a $1 billion loss for the first half of the fiscal year.

NEC, which also filed earnings on Friday, dipped 0.97 percent to 1,230 yen. Its net loss of 29.9 billion yen for the September quarter was still better than most.

Brokerage stocks were hit after Daiwa Securities Group filed an unexpectedly large, 132 billion yen ($1.1 billion loss) for the first half of the business year.

Daiwa stock dropped 5.4 percent to 872 yen on Monday, dragging peer brokerages Nikko Cordial Group and Nomura Holdings with it.

Nikko then posted a 14.3 billion yen first-half loss after the end of trade Monday.

The Bank of Japan painted a bleak picture of the economy over the next few quarters. But the bank left monetary policy unchanged, as expected.

Failed bid for News hits Sydney stocks

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 0.6 percent at 3,256.2, after gaining each day last week.

Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp. tanked the market, where it accounts for 10 percent of the main index.

It dropped 6.2 percent to A$13.67, after News said it was withdrawing its offer to buy Hughes Corp., parent of U.S. satellite company DirecTV.

General Motors, which owns Hughes, said Monday it had agreed to EchoStar Communications Corp.'s counteroffer.

ANZ Bank closed at a record high of A$17.81, up 11 cents. But National Australia Bank closed down 15 cents at A$30.43.

Mining giant BHP Billiton lost 2 cents to A$9.36, though Rio Tinto rose 68 cents to A$33.13.

New Zealand's benchmark NZSE-40 capital index finished up 1.2 percent at 1,959 on strong turnover.

Drink maker Frucor was active again, falling 1 cent to NZ$2.45. That's still 10 cents above a NZ$2.35 buyout offer from France's Groupe Danone.

Telecom New Zealand, Wellington's largest listing, rose 4.5 percent to NZ$4.61.

Cathay noses down in Hong Kong

Hong Kong saw the sharpest drop, with the Hang Seng index falling 2.2 percent to 10,178.09.

Airline Cathay Pacific led the losers, plunging 9.64 percent to HK$7.50, on worries about its earnings. Regional peer Singapore Airlines reported a large drop last week.

Bank HSBC Holdings, the largest listing in Hong Kong, fell 1.14 percent to HK$87.00 as worries about the global outlook persist.

Even Hong Kong's China plays, which have held up strongly of late, lost ground. China Mobile, the mainland's largest cell-phone company, dropped 3.85 percent to HK$23.75.

China Unicom, China's mobile No. 2, fell 3.95 percent to HK$7.35.

But China's B shares, open to overseas investors, rose. The Shanghai B share index ended up 0.64 and Shenzhen, up 0.55 percent.

Taiwan, Korea up

South Korea's Kospi index finished the day 0.8 percent to the better. Overseas investors were snapping up telecoms like SK Telecom, which rose 4.65 percent to 247,500 won.

Korea watchers said the gains would have been bigger but investors are wary, after Korea's market has posted several strong weeks in a row.

Drug maker Yuhan Corp. attracted a lot of interest, rising 7.55 percent to 65,500 won. It has sold the sales rights of its gastric-ulcer treatment to GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals for $100 million.

In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiex index rose 0.5 percent to 4,065.10.

Investors were getting joy out of the island's chipmakers, after a positive earnings outlook from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSMC stock closed up the daily 7 percent limit at T$67.

Singapore stocks were weak, as flagship carrier Singapore Airlines weighed on the Straits Times after posting an 88 percent drop in profit to S$134.8 million ($73.7 million) after the close of trade Friday.

Its stock was down 9.5 percent at S$8.60 in late trade.

Reuters contributed to this report.