Nikkei ends below 10,000 as Asia succumbs


Korean stocks again fell hard, with chips and big caps down, though the Kospi did not match its Monday plummet

By Alex Frew McMillan
CNN Hong Kong

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks finally succumbed to worldwide selling pressure on Wednesday, with every Asian market bar Sri Lanka and Vietnam dropping.

Japan's Nikkei closed below the 10,000 barrier for the first time since February, dropping 2.62 percent to 9,947.72.

The broader Topix index, a measure of all Section 1 stocks, had risen the first two days of this week, despite the selloff on Wall Street. But on Wednesday the Topix lost 1.63 percent to end at 976.63.

Tokyo's banks moved against the trend to be among the few gainers in Asia.

Hong Kong hurt the most

Hong Kong faced the heaviest pressure of the main Asian indexes, losing just over 3.3 percent.

Korean stocks also fell hard, with the Kospi down 3 percent and the secondary Kosdaq market off 3.36 percent.


Japan's Topix got some support from its banks, but it still sold off to close in the red for the first time this week

Taiwan fell slightly over 2.3 percent. Australia and New Zealand had large one-day drops by their standards. Singapore is trading down more than 2.5 percent heading into the close.

In Japan, bank stocks marked one of Asia's few bright spots. UFJ Holdings put on 2.25 percent to 318,000 yen.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's largest bank, rose 0.68 percent to 294,000 yen.

But Tokyo's largest listing, NTT DoCoMo, exerted a heavy selling push, down 3.46 percent to 2512,000 yen.

Techs face heavy pressure

Sony Corp., which looks to the United States for much of its sales, fell 2.58 percent to 5,280 yen.

The markets did not react to strong trade surplus figures out of Japan (full story). The yen is steady, at 117.39 in late Hong Kong trade.

Chip- and electronics makers lost ground, Mitsubishi Electric off 3.25 percent to 476 yen. NEC fell 2.89 percent, despite word of a deal with Sharp and Hitachi on computers (full story).

E Trade earnings up

Sony and NEC report earnings on Thursday. Internet brokerage E Trade Japan fell 0.67 percent to 59,700 yen.

It came in with net profit of 499 million yen ($4.26 million), up sevenfold from the 66 million yen it made the same time last year.

In Seoul, the Kospi again saw heavy selling, closing down 2.97 percent to 721.41.


This Hong Kong trader watched his market suffer the heaviest losses in the region, with bank stock HSBC sharply down

SK Telecom lost another 4.2 percent to 238,500 won. Hynix Semiconductor ended down 10.8 percent at 510 yen in the heaviest trade of the day.

It is still reeling from missing a $23 million bond payment on Tuesday.

The memory-chip maker blamed that on "differences in banks' positions, not because of cash flow," one Hynix executive told a shareholder's meeting.

Hynix rival Samsung Electronics dropped 2.90 percent to 335,000 won.

But consumer-electronics maker LG Electronics proved one of the few gainers, up 1.1 percent to 45,500 won.

South Korea's finance minister Jeon Yun-churl told parliament that Korea is still on track for 6 percent growth this year despite worries about the U.S. economy.

Taiex supported by state funds

Taiwan's Taiex fell 2.32 percent to 5,039.48, taking Taipei stocks to a three-week low.

But Taiwan did not match Nasdaq's 4.2 percent drop (U.S. roundup). State funds bought into the market.

TSMC saw the heaviest trading and dropped 5.65 percent to T$58.50. Rival UMC was also sharply off, down 4.22 percent to T$36.30.

Australian stocks produced a large move for a typically conservative exchange. The S&P/ASX lost 2.31 percent to 3,017.2.

Sydney's biggest fall since September

That was the biggest one-day fall since September. Big caps sold off. News Corp. -- already at four-year lows -- dropped 5.3 percent to A$8.90.

Even defensive sectors such as mining felt the selloff. BHP Billiton dropped 3.46 percent to A$9.48. Rio Tinto fell 3.67 percent to A$32.57.

In New Zealand, the Top 40 sold off 1.56 percent to end at 1,974.65.

Telecom New Zealand fell 2.68 percent to NZ$4.72 in the heaviest trade of the day. No. 2 listing Carter Holt Harvey dropped 3.76 percent to NZ$1.79.

HSBC, cell phone plays down

Hong Kong's Hang Seng suffered the brunt of the regional downdrift. Heavy investment-bank selling in the United States followed through to HSBC, down 3.44 percent to HK$84.25.

Cheung Kong Holdings closed 3.94 percent lower at HK$60.75.

China Unicom fell 5.22 percent. Mainland cell-phone rival China Mobile gave up 4.57 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times is down 2.56 percent at 1,525.61 coming into the close, on tech selling.