Asian markets bounce as India gets shock


The focus is back, unfavorably, on Japanese banks like Mizuho as they sit on their bad debts

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks couldn't sustain their rally and sagged again on Thursday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index undid all of Wednesday's gains and more, falling 3.4 percent to 10,433.45.

The broader Topix index fell 2.24 percent to 1,012.93.

In India, where security forces fought a gun battle outside the parliament in New Delhi, the main stock index tumbled 3 percent on the unrest.

The Mumbai stock market had been trading flat ahead of the shooting, then slumped before recovering a little in afternoon trade to be down 1.9 percent. It was bouncing around while the identity of the attackers remained unclear.

Taiwan suffers heavy late selling

South Korean stocks sold off, as did the market in Australia. Taiwan, which had been posting good gains much of the day, suffered heavy selling to end down more than 2 percent.

The Hong Kong stock index was also sharply lower, ending down more than 2.5 percent.

Stocks were almost 1.5 percent down in Singapore in the last hour of trade.

In Tokyo, the market sold off sharply on worries about banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.

Japan's second-largest bank nosedived 10.05 percent to 528 yen. It had gained 9 percent the day before.

Aoki causes long-term lag

After last week's failure of midsize construction company Aoki, investors are waiting for a second shoe - or company - to fall.

In all, 13 public companies have gone under in Japan this year.

Mizuho Holdings, the biggest bank in the world by assets, fell 5.3 percent to 250,000 yen, just off its record low.

Asahi Bank fell 11.11 percent to 72 yen, its lowest this year.

Investors have persistently sold off Japanese construction companies after Aoki's collapse.

Fujita Corp. closed at a lifetime low, down 17.65 percent at 14 yen.

The selling was most severe among smaller contractors. But larger companies suffered too. Taisei Corp. fell 7.5 percent to 296 yen.

Japan is likely to have a bumpy ride on Friday, which is a "double witching" session, when options and futures contracts expire. There's normally a flurry of trading around those events.

Sydney down a little

In Sydney, the benchmark ASX/S&P 200 index gave way to end down 0.29 percent at 3,312.5.

Australian stocks drew little support from a surprisingly good jobless report. The unemployment rate Down Under dropped to 6.7 percent for November, from 7.1 percent the previous month.

Weapons developer Metal Storm drew strength from its new listing on Wall Street overnight, rising 35 percent to A$2.09 in Australian trade.

Normandy Mining, the country's biggest gold producer, rose 1 cent to A$1.78 on heavy turnover. It is the target of a bidding war between South Africa's AngloGold and the American company Newmont Mining.

National Australia Bank, the biggest in Australia, fell 2.2 percent after saying on Wednesday it would sell its loss-making U.S. subsidiary.

Leading telecom Telstra dropped 6 cents to A$5.24.

In New Zealand, the benchmark NZSE-40 capital index ended up 0.14 percent at 2,074.26.

New listing Fisher & Paykel Appliances stormed ahead 4.1 percent to NZ$10.20.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 1.5 percent ot NZ$16.95.

Telecom New Zealand, which accounts for the lion's share of Wellington trade, rose 3 cents to NZ$5.15.

Seoul's Kospi down 0.7%

In Seoul the benchmark Kospi index closed off 0.71 percent at 676.59.

Investors said the market seemed ripe for bargain hunting after its recent selloff.

Steel maker Pohang Iron and Steel fell 2.94 percent to 115,500 won.

The Japanese yen has broken through 126 to the U.S. dollar, and that weakness puts pressure on the Korean won, and Korean competitors of Japanese companies.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker, fell 1.85 percent to 265,000 won.

SK Telecom, the largest cell-phone provider in Korea, dropped 2.5 percent to 254,000 won.

In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiex index suffered badly on its busiest trading day since August 2000. The Taiex ended down 2.4 percent at 5,407.54, having been up a similar amount earlier in the day.

Contract chip maker United Microelectroncis fell 5.9 percent to T$49.40. It has doubled since early October.

The Hong Kong market fell 2.6 percent to bring the Hang Seng index to 11,529.54.

The biggest stock, bank HSBC, fell 2.6 percent to HK$93.50 on concern about the global picture.

The second largest listing in Hong Kong, mainland mobile phone operator China Mobile, dropped 4.0 percent to HK$28.80.

China's B share markets, which are open to overseas investors, dropped 3.7 percent in Shanghai and 2.1 percent in Shenzhen, as investors fret about new listings on the A share market sapping investor cash.

Singapore's Straits Times index fell sharply early in the day, then spent the afternoon making a comeback.

Banks led the early selling, with DBS driving the moves. DBS is Southeast Asia's biggest bank, and investors said it had risen too quickly over the past few days.

The Straits Times was down 1.8 percent at 1,566.03 in the last hour of trade.

Reuters contributed to this report.