Korea, Taiwan rally to end in black


Japan ended solidly in the red again, with exporters and techs lower, but Taiwan and Korea bounced back by the close

Alex Frew McMillan
CNN

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian markets recovered a little ground in the afternoon, with South Korea and Taiwan bouncing back for a gain.

But most markets were lower, with Tokyo stocks failing to rebound from a morning sell-off.

The Topix index lost 1.7 percent to close at 937.67 and the Nikkei came back a little to end down 1.5 percent at 9,620.14.

Australia fell slightly and Hong Kong also lost ground. New Zealand flagged as the day wore on and ended very slightly in the red.

The Philippines could not sustain its gains either, the composite index surrendering an early pop to end down 0.28 percent at 1,105.96.

The country's gross domestic product figures were much stronger than expected for the second quarter. (Full story)

Third day of declines in Tokyo

In Japan, stocks lost ground for the third day in a row with chip and technology weakness persisting.

Toshiba Corp. fell 1.93 percent to 407 yen, while Mitsubishi Electric dropped 3.08 percent to 409 yen.

Softbank Corp. crunched 7.23 percent lower to 1,206 yen after selling 30 million shares in Yahoo to raise cash.

Sony Corp. dropped 3.18 percent to 5,180 yen with the currency again becoming a factor for investors in major exporters.

Toyota Motor Corp. fell 2.84 percent to 2,910 yen due to currency pressure. The company said it has agreed a deal to build vehicles in China with First Automotive Works, the country's biggest carmaker.

The yen continues to gain a little strength, trading at 117.67 to the U.S. dollar in early trade out of Edinburgh.

Wednesday's blue-chip gainers, Japan Tobacco and KDDI, topped the rises again, up 1.14 percent and 1.77 percent respectively.

Korea finishes on positive note


The yen is weighing on the markets again, knocking exporters, and has strengthened to 117 to the dollar

South Korea's Kospi index recovered from morning selling to end up 0.12 percent at 724.94. That broke four days of declines.

Hynix Semiconductor soared 5.8 percent to 550 won on reports its creditors may be pushed to sell the company before presidential elections in December. (Full story)

Daewoo Motor Sales lost 2.3 percent to 8,600 won with production still suspended at Daewoo Motor's factories due to a dispute with its parts suppliers.

The central Bank of Korea said the economy is on track for growth of 6.0 to 6.5 percent. (Full story)

Fixed-line company KT Corp. climbed 3.94 percent to 52,800 won on its plan to buy back shares.

Taiwan's market charted a similar course to Korea. The Taiex closed up 0.23 percent at 4,800.63.

The main driver behind the recovery from morning losses was the electronics subindex, which ended up 0.43 percent. TSMC ended flat at T$50.00 with UMC also level at T$28.00.

U.S. markets had generated selling in Korea and Taiwan but investors stepped in, albeit in light trade, after persistent selling this week.

Nasdaq ended Wednesday down 2.48 percent, after Nortel Networks warned on sales. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.48 percent. (Full roundup)

Australia not liking taste of earnings

On Thursday, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.22 percent to finish at 3,130.8. News Corp. declined 3.3 percent to A$9.62 after a 4 percent slide in New York.

Brambles again fell hard after Wednesday's disappointing results (Full story), building on yesterday's 11 percent drop with a 6.2 percent fall to A$6.96.

Telstra gained 1.5 percent to claw back some of Wednesday's losses, after it unveiled disappointing profits and gave a near-flat outlook for the year ahead. (Full story)

Billibong ended down 11 percent at A$7.97 after CEO Matthew Perrin sold A$66.4 million in the company's stock, 61 percent of his holdings. He says he does not intend to sell more shares.

New Zealand's Top 40 index bucked the Asia Pacific selling yet again for most of the day. But it too succumbed, ending just below break even, off 0.03 percent at 3,130.8.

Telecom New Zealand ended down 0.20 percent at NZ$5.06. Sky City Entertainment Group rose for a fourth day, up 2.17 percent to NZ$7.05.

Hong Kong property stocks down

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished down 0.78 percent at 10,050.76. But HSBC recovered to end flat at HK$88.50.

Telecom stock PCCW lost 2.05 percent to HK$1.43, its lowest level since taking over Cable & Wireless Hong Kong two years ago.

The company, which reports earnings next week, plans to ask employees if they will accept jobs at subcontractors instead of being on-staff.

Hang Lung Proprieties dropped 5.49 percent to HK$7.75 after recording a decline of almost 13 percent in full-year profit.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 0.94 percent at 1,490.72 in late trade. Creative Technologies is off 1.36 percent to S$14.70.

Chartered Semiconductor is 2.16 percent lower at S$2.31, after closing at a record low of S$2.36 on Wednesday.