Tokyo flat, Hong Kong leads Asia higher


A stronger Japanese yen weighed on export-oriented shares in Tokyo

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets closed mainly higher Thursday, with Hong Kong up sharply but Tokyo flat. Taiwan dropped more than 3 percent.

Japanese stocks ended the day marginally lower after a firmer yen hit electronics and auto exporters.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average was down just 1.78 points, or 0.02 percent, at 11,551.01, while the broader capital-weighted Topix Index lost 0.41 points, or 0.04 percent, to 1086.50.

Taiwan's main Taiex lost 197.90 points or 3.26 percent to 5867.33 as selling pressure took a toll on tech shares.

But in contrast, Hong Kong soared, with the Hang Seng index jumping 282.53 points or 2.46 percent to 11,780.11

South Korea and Singapore joined Hong Kong on the uptrend, as blue chips tracked the gains made on Wall Street by the Dow Jones industrial average.

Australia was up too, but its gain was limited by weakness among miners and telco leader Telstra.

U.S. blue chips rallied Wednesday after a spate of selloffs. The Dow rose 1.14 percent to 10,059.63, but the tech-laden Nasdaq slipped 0.63 percent to 1,677.53.

Firmer yen

The stronger yen had an impact on automakers and tech leaders such as Sony, which lost 0.87 percent to 6850 yen. Computer and chipmaker Fujitsu was down 1.5 percent to 981 yen and printer and copier maker Canon fell 0.4 percent to 4900 yen.

Honda Motor dropped 1.85 percent to 5840 yen, Nissan slumped 4.1 percent to 953 yen and auto leader Toyota lost 1.42 percent to 3470 yen.

Among banks, Mizuho Holdings dropped 2.81 percent to 277,000 yen, MTFG lost 0.34 percent to 888,000 yen and UFJ eased 0.3 percent to 321,000. SMBC was a gainer, up 1.19 percent to 596 yen.

Japanese financial markets will be closed on Friday and Monday for national holidays.

In Seoul, the Kospi rose 2.08 percent to 859.86. South Korea's exports rebounded 10 percent year on year in April on rising demand for flat panel screens, computers, and petrochemical products.

SK Telecom was flat at 251,500 won.

Banking shares were firm on hopes creditors may revive talks to sell the core assets of troubled Hynix Semiconductor to U.S. rival Micron Technology.

Shares in Korea Exchange Bank, Hynix's main creditor, gained 1050 won or 14.9 percent to 8100 won.

But Hynix, whose board rejected the Micron deal Tuesday, slumped 14.66 percent to 815 won. Rival Samsung Electronics slipped 0.65 percent to 379,500 won. Micron issued a statement late Thursday that it saw no way to proceed with Hynix.

Miners slide

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended 1.9 points, or 0.06 percent, higher at 3362.3.

Westpac fell 1.83 percent to A$16.10 after reporting a record interim net profit of A$1.018 billion. It also said it would book a $750 million profit on the sale of its AGC consumer finance unit to GE Capital.

Telco leader Telstra Corp Ltd fell 23 cents or 4.57 percent to A$4.80. It reported a 1.1 percent decline in third quarter revenue and an unchanged year outlook.

BHP Billiton fell 2.76 percent to A$10.55 after it said Wednesday its March quarter net profit dropped 33 percent to $406 million. Rival Rio Tinto slipped 1.96 percent to A$35.00.

In Taiwan, stocks fell sharply on continued selling pressure. Chip foundry TSMC lost 2.86 percent to T$85, while UMC slipped 1.83 percent to T$51.50. Asustek Computer dropped 6.8 percent to T$117.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was up 1 percent, or 18.11 points, at 1,743.65 near the close.

Banks led the way. United Overseas Bank was up 2 percent at S$14.70, DBS Group Holdings edged up 0.71 percent to S$14.10, and OCBC Bank added 1.54 percent to S$13.20.

In Hong Kong, stocks closed sharply higher with property stocks leading the gains.

Developer Cheung Kong rose 2.36 percent to HK$76.25, and Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 2.21 percent to HK$69.50. Henderson Land added 0.8 percent to HK$38.30.

Banking leader HSBC was also up 0.8 percent to HK$93.50.