Tokyo sinks as Asian markets falter


In the World Cup being played in Japan and Korea, Senegal followed its win over France with a 1-all draw with Denmark

staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets closed lower Thursday with Tokyo posting a loss of roughly three quarters of a percent.

The Topix index ended down 0.73 percent at 1108.08, with chip stocks leading the Nikkei index to a slightly larger loss, down 0.76 percent to 11,574.94.

Taiwan ended lower and Singapore is trading down coming into the close. Australia and Hong Kong also lost ground.

But New Zealand went against the trend to finish in the black.

Japan looks to GDP


Sony finished the day unchanged in Tokyo at 6970 yen

In Tokyo, Japanese tech stocks initially rose after Wall Street's gains on Wednesday. But concern over Japan's upcoming gross domestic product figures knocked stocks lower into the afternoon.

Banks lost ground ahead of the GDP figures, due out on Friday.

An update from U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. dealt chip stocks a blow. NEC Corp., the second-largest chipmaker in Japan, fell 0.33 percent to 913 yen. Consumer electronics leader Sony finished unchanged at 6970 yen.

Automotive leader Toyota Motor fell 1.2 percent to 3300 yen.

Volume picked back up, making Thursday the busiest trading day since the start of the World Cup soccer tournament, which is being held jointly in Japan and South Korea.

Korea has showed stock gains since the national team vanquished Poland for its first cup win. While Japan earned its first point in its opener, the markets have typically lacked direction and Japan has not yet won a match.

South Korea's market was closed for a national holiday Thursday.

EVA off in Taiwan

Chip stocks also lost ground in Taiwan. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 1.83 percent to T$80.50. Taipei's main index, the Taiex, fell 0.15 percent to 5,591.02, with traders turning defensive.


Fans from around the world have flown to Japan and in Korea, in the case of this South Africa fan, to watch the games

China Steel rose 4.1 percent to T$17.80. It raised prices starting in late May.

EVA Airways closed down 0.34 percent at T$14.50. After the close, it said it sees sales lifting between T$2 billion and T$3 billion as it ramps up the highly profitable Hong Kong-Taiwan route.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed 0.19 percent lower at 11,380.77.

First Pacific rose 11.41 percent to HK$1.66 as it prepared to sell its stakes in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. into a joint venture with Manila tycoon John Gokongwei's JG Summit Group

First Pacific is also seeking to offload its stake in Metro Pacific Corp., a Manila property development company.

Bank stock HSBC, the market heavyweight in Hong Kong, ended flat at HK$95.60.

Sydney down as mining stocks fall

In Sydney, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed down 0.18 percent at 5591.02, with resources leader BHP Billiton falling 1.3 percent to A$10.38.

Market heavyweight, media group News Corp, sank 0.95 percent to A$12.46, with a report it may pay $800 million for a stake in Italian pay-TV company Telepiu.

AurionGold fell 1.3 percent to A$4.45 after Newmont Mining pulled out of the running. Canada's Placer Dome is still bidding on the company.

In New Zealand, the main Top 40 index rose 0.42 percent to 2,116.56.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 108.96 or 1.12 percent to close at 9796.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index put on 17.14 points or 1.09 percent to finish at 1595.26 (full U.S. roundup).

Despite Wall Street's stronger showing, investors in Asia turned bearish amid declining futures prices, traders said.

Singapore's Straits Times index is slightly down, off 0.8 percent at 1,652.71 in late trade.

Stocks in India and Mumbai are up 0.29 percent, a fourth day of gains. One domestic broker said he expected the rally to stay muted.

After diplomatic lobbying, the tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir appears to be easing.

In Pakistan the market is slightly off, down 0.55 percent in afternoon Thursday trade.

Reuters contributed to this report.