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Japan closes higher, Asia down
HONG KONG, China -- Japanese stocks closed higher Friday, boosted by gains in the telecom and automotive sectors. But Japan's big banks eased after the gains they made Thursday, when the release of a watered-down reform plan gave the banking sector a boost. The Nikkei 225 average finished the day up 0.52 percent to 8,685.72, after opening lower. The broader Topix index posted a similar gain, up 0.54 percent gain to 866.89. Most Asian markets ended lower, though, with South Korea and Taiwan both down 1.7 percent. Australia lost 1 percent, and Singapore sold off late to end down 2.4 percent as banks plunged. Hong Kong finished down 0.36 percent, having traded higher most of the day. Asia's mixed performance came after U.S. stocks were split on Thursday, with a 0.36 percent decline in the Dow Jones industrial average, to 8,397.03. The tech-driven Nasdaq composite rose 0.23 percent. (U.S. roundup) Car stocks up in Tokyo
In Tokyo, skepticism about the bank-reform plan gave way to buying in a few big-cap names. Toyota Motor jumped 4.36 percent to 3,110 yen after posting record results earlier this week, thanks mainly to strong U.S. sales. (Full story) The country's two other major carmakers also rose, Nissan Motor adding 3 percent and Honda Motor putting on 1.14 percent. Telecom stocks enjoyed a solid run, with NTT up 14,000 yen or 3.12 percent to 463,000 yen. Mobile-phone subsidiary NTT DoCoMo also jumped, up 4.42 percent to 236,000 yen. Rival KDDI added 1.67 percent to 370,000 yen. Bank stocks were down after bucking Thursday's losses. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. dipped 2.76 percent to 493 yen and UFJ Holdings eased 2.16 percent to 181,000 yen. Mizuho Holdings lost 2.15 percent to 182,000 yen on a report it will write off 1 trillion yen in bad loans next business year. (Full story) The yen is trading steady at 122.56 in late Asian trade and expected to stay in a tight range until the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next week. Retail sales up in AustraliaIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.07 percent to 3,010.3. Investors ignored a better-than-expected 0.7 percent rise in retail sales in September, focusing instead on the likelihood of a U.S. interest-rate cut next week. Media group News Corp., the market's biggest stock, eased 0.19 percent to A$10.62. Diversified miner BHP Billiton, which reported first-quarter earnings Thursday, fell 2.68 percent to A$9.43 after the previous day's gain. (Full story) Most of the big banks were also weaker. But Westpac managed a 0.4 percent gain to A$14.26 after rising on its earnings the day before. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.86 percent at 2,039.70, driven by a 1.58 percent rise in Telecom New Zealand, to NZ$5.14. Kospi down in Seoul
South Korea's Kospi fell 1.71 percent to 647.65, with big carmaker Hyundai Motor off 2.6 percent and steelmaker POSCO down 0.87 percent. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was also down, off 1.16 percent to 341,000 won. Korean Air Lines finished 4.58 percent lower at 13,550 won despite posting a return to profit for its third-quarter earnings. (Full story) Cell-phone company SK Telecom was off 1.11 percent at 222,500 won, still reeling from a 30-day ban on signing new customers for offering illegal handset subsidies. Taiwan's Taiex matched Korea's fall, losing 1.72 percent to 4,500.55, reversing course after a higher open. Chip foundry twins TSMC and UMC both lost more than 3 percent and big plastics makers such as Nan Ya and Formosa Plastics were down 4 percent. Chip-set maker Via Technologies tumbled 5.45 percent after posting a 95 percent drop in third-quarter profit on Thursday. Banks boost Hong KongHong Kong's Hang Seng finished with a loss of 0.36 percent at 9,407.68, after spending much of the day with gains. Banks generally solid gains ahead of a likely cut in U.S. interest rates next week. HSBC Holdings ended up 0.87 percent at HK$85.75, though subsidiary Hang Seng fell at the close to end down 0.59 percent at HK$83.75. British bank Standard Chartered closed up a surprising 3.45 percent at HK$90.00, after getting its secondary offering off the ground on Thursday with a 3.57 percent rise. (Full story) Analysts said Thursday they didn't expect a lot of movement in the stock until it joins the Hang Seng, likely next year. China Telecom delayed its stock offering, the third-largest in the world this year, and will reopen the book building next week with a lower price. (Full story) In Singapore, the Straits Times index plunged in late trade to end down 2.44 percent at 1,427.60. DBS Group, Southeast Asia's largest bank, led the losses with a 4.03 percent fall to S$11.90. Banks accounted for the top three spots on the loss charts, OCBC falling 3.85 percent to S$10.00 and UOB dropping 2.99 percent to S$13.00. The government said Singapore's jobless rate surged to 4.8 percent in September, promising more bankruptcies and credit-card defaults.
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