Tokyo breaks streak as Asia sinks


Banks brushed the Topix lower, while NTT DoCoMo and its parent dealt the Nikkei a knock as Japan broke its five-day streak

By Alex Frew McMillan
CNN

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Tokyo stocks buckled on Tuesday for their first declines after five straight days of gains.

The Topix index took bank selling to heart, giving up 1.87 percent to 962.84. The tech-tinged Nikkei 225 average ended down 1.59 percent at 9,907.30.

Most other markets around Asia opened higher but gave way before noon. South Korea ended down almost as much as the market in Japan.

Taiwan lost a little over 1 percent, with Hong Kong down a little under 1 percent. Australian stocks lost about half that.

New Zealand was one of the few Asia Pacific markets to register a gain, with gains also for China's B shares and the Philippines.

Singapore is trading down more than 1 percent heading toward the close.

DoCoMo declines in Tokyo

In Japan, bank selling depressed the Topix with Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corp. dropping 3.27 percent to 621 yen.

Mizuho, the world's largest bank, slipped 2.68 percent to 254,000 yen, and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group lost 1.56 percent to 819,000 yen.

NTT DoCoMo, the largest cell phone service, dealt the Nikkei a blow with a 3.35 percent decline to 260,000 yen. Parent NTT fell 3.76 percent to 486,000 yen.

Market players said stocks weren't able to sustain their strength after the Nikkei broke above 10,000.

The five largest carmakers all said their sales and output rose in July, thanks to exports. But only Nissan Motor saw sales rise in Japan.

Car companies sink


Stronger exports and production weren't enough to boost car stocks, with Honda falling 1.34 percent and only one gaining

Nissan still fell 1.77 percent to 888 yen, with Toyota Motor off 1.94 percent to 3,030 yen and Honda down 1.34 percent to 5,160 yen.

Mazda led the losses with a 2.15 percent dip to 318 yen. Mitsubishi Motors was the only carmaker to notch a gain, up 0.34 percent to 291 yen.

They were not helped by the Japanese currency on Tuesday. The yen is trading stronger at 118.95 against the U.S. dollar in early European trade out of Milan.

Samsung down with stock buying ending

In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 1.45 percent to 724.17, mapping the losses in Tokyo. Overseas investors set a record for futures selling for a single day.

Cell-phone service SK Telecom dropped 2.98 percent to 228,000 won after gaining in recent weeks.

Samsung Electronics declined 2.2 percent to 333,000 won even though it is approaching the end of its stock buyback.

Low-end computer maker Trigem Computer Inc. broke rank with a 4.6 percent rise to 11,300 won after renewing a $1.3 billion one-year contract with Hewlett-Packard Co.

Taiwan's market couldn't sustain its early gains, stemming from a solid U.S. performance overnight.

Chip foundries lower in Taiwan


Tokyo started lower and stayed that way, but most Asian markets rose immediately after the open and then lost their initiative

Nasdaq, which often drives Taipei, closed up 0.81 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.52 percent. (Full roundup)

Surprisingly brisk housing sales gave the U.S. market a jolt. (Full story)

In Taipei on Tuesday, the Taiex ended down 1.16 percent at 4,878.85, with heavy selling from its two largest components.

TSMC lost 2.86 percent to T$51.00, with smaller rival UMC off 3.3 percent to T$29.30.

Taiwan's electronics companies contributed most of the selling, that subindex ending down 1.6 percent. Financial stocks were off but outperformed, the subindex losing just 0.3 percent on the day.

Big caps down in Sydney

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.52 percent to 3,160.3. Banks sold off Down Under on a Reserve Bank of Australia ruling that could cut into credit-card income.

But most big-caps were lower, Telstra sliding 0.40 to A$4.96 ahead of earnings on Wednesday. News Corp. lost 1.2 percent to A$10.32.

Wine and beer maker Foster's ended flat at A$4.87 after unveiling a 21 percent rise in net profit for the year, to A$560.9 million. (Full story)

Grocery story Woolworth's shot up 4 percent to A$11.96 after losing 8 percent on its earnings on Tuesday.

In Wellington, the Top 40 added 0.45 percent to 2,058.71. Telecom New Zealand recovered from a drop on Monday, gaining 1.01 percent to NZ$4.99.

But it was Sky City Entertainment Group that led the way, rising 2.27 percent to NZ$6.75 and a record high. The company beat estimates with net earnings of NZ$57.2 million for the year.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 2.5 percent to NZ$9.51, with San Diego-based rival ResMed Inc. suing the company for patent infringement.

Hong Kong down ahead of bank earnings

The Hang Seng closed 0.40 percent lower at 10,185.52 in Hong Kong. Investors were waiting for the first earnings since the Bank of China Hong Kong went public in July.

Its shares ended flat at HK$8.65, just above their initial public offering price of HK$8.50. Larger competitor HSBC moved ahead 0.28 percent to HK$89.25.

Chinese airline China Eastern collapsed 9.4 percent to HK$1.06 after posting a 64 percent fall in net profit for the first half.

Rival China Southern, which ended down 8.33 percent to HK$2.475 after posting a 39 percent fall in first-half profit on Friday.

Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 1.86 percent to HK$52.75 after it said the price of its Park Island development was HK$2,900 per square foot, not HK$3,300 as earlier stated.

Henderson Land lost 2.59 percent to HK$26.35, with other developers also lower.

Hong Kong's U.S.-oriented plays, Li & Fung and Johnson Electric, both ended lower despite strong export figures out of Hong Kong on Monday. (Full story)

Li & Fung fell 1.67 percent on Tuesday to HK$8.90, while Johnson Electric drifted 1.25 percent to HK$7.90.

Singapore's Straits Times index is down 0.87 percent at 1,502.82 in late trade, knocked by banks after United Overseas Bank gave up some of its gains stemming from a bullish August 7 earnings report.

The Straits Times broke below 1,500 in afternoon trade for the first time in two weeks but was recovering at late trade.

China's B shares locked in modest gains, with Shanghai up 0.42 percent and Shenzhen ahead 0.46 percent. The Shanghai market is looking to establish ties with stock markets in Japan.

The market in the Philippines gained 0.55 percent, the best in the region. In Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange index is in and out of negative territory, with shares in conglomerate Sime Darby suspended ahead of earnings.

It saw a 24 percent profit jump for the year through June, beating forecasts.