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Japan back to strength, Asia stalls
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Japanese stocks returned to their winning ways on Wednesday, closing about 0.6 percent higher. South Korea also rose, but other Asian markets weakened. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 finished up for the sixth time in seven days, ahead 0.59 percent to 8,875.88. The broader Topix put on a similar amount, closing 0.61 percent higher at 869.26. Big bank Mizuho Holdings and automaker Isuzu grabbed market attention with gains of 7.4 percent and 9.1 percent respectively. Seoul's Kospi added 0.83 percent to 708.07 and New Zealand's Top 40 finished just in the black. But Australia ended down about a third of a percent, and there were declines for most other markets. Taiwan's Taiex fared the worst, off almost 1 percent to 4,633.03. Singapore ended down three-quarters of a percent and Hong Kong gave up half a percent. Wall Street provided some downward pressure from the start, with Nasdaq tumbling 2.53 percent on Tuesday and the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.95 percent to 8,676.42. (U.S. roundup) Domestic-play gains in TokyoIn Tokyo, a broad range of domestic plays led the market higher, with JR West up 2.83 percent to 436,000 yen. Traders speculated that public pension funds were buying into the market.
Carmakers were mainly higher, with Nissan up 3 percent to 984 yen, industry leader Toyota up 0.31 percent to 3,190 yen and Isuzu surging a sharp 9.1 percent to 36 yen after posting a $685 million first-half loss earlier this week. Honda eased slightly. Banks also moving ahead two days after releasing their half-year earnings, with Mizuho up 7.38 percent to 131,000 yen and UFJ Holdings up 3.3 percent to 124,000 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group put on 1.55 percent to 720,000 yen. The other member of the Big Four, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., has been delisted ahead of the start of trade next Monday of its new holding company, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. Internet investor Softbank Corp. rose 1 percent to 1,395 yen on a report it is in final negotiations to sell a 30 percent stake in Aozora Bank to overseas investors. (Full story) Telecoms finished lower, though, Japan Telecom losing 1.61 percent to 367,000 yen and KDDI off half a percent to 379,000 yen.
Rival cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo lost 1.25 percent to 237,000 yen, with parent NTT off 0.44 percent to 456,000 yen. Japanese stocks are due for a rally, according to BCA Research, with the Tokyo market oversold, U.S. stocks rallying more than 20 percent recently, and Japanese policymakers looking to prop up the market. The yen was stronger at 121.67 in late Asian trade, with the U.S. dollar showing little reaction to stronger than expected gross domestic product figures for the third quarter. (Full story) Australia just below parIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.34 percent lower at 3,005.2. The Wall Street slide drove News Corp. down 2.7 percent to A$11.91. Mining stocks continued Tuesday's declines, with BHP Billiton off 1.75 percent to A$9.53. Rio Tinto slipped 1.9 percent lower to A$33.00 after it said a project in Madagascar is still only at a very early stage.
But Telstra closed 1.37 percent higher at A$4.44 after the government said it will delay its sale of a majority stake in the telecom by at least a year. That decision came as the government cut its growth outlook for 2002-03 to just 3.0 percent. (Full story) Qantas also rose, up 0.26 percent to A$3.86, regaining some of the ground lost on Tuesday as investors fretted regulators might disrupt its attempt to buy 22.5 percent of Air New Zealand. New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.02 percent to 1,946.13 in Wellington. Telecom New Zealand rose 0.64 percent to NZ$4.75. But Air New Zealand fell again on doubts about the Qantas sale, down 1.92 percent to NZ$0.51. Exporters recover in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended down 0.51 percent at 9,944.59, feeling the effects of the U.S. weakness overnight. Oil producer CNOOC fell 2.54 percent to HK$9.60 with China warning its sales are down around 10 percent this year. HSBC made it three consecutive days of decline with a 0.84 percent slip to HK$88.75, with subsidiary Hang Seng slipping 0.29 percent to HK$85.75. But exporters rebounded from early losses stemming from weaker than expected U.S. consumer confidence figures. Garment shipper Li & Fung ended flat at HK$8.35 after an early dip, while small-motor maker Johnson Electronics closed up 1.69 percent at HK$9.05. Telecom PCCW was the biggest gainer, up 4.9 percent to HK$1.50 with the company set to gain at least $64 million from next week's stock debut of MobileOne in Singapore. It owns around 15 percent of the company. Taiwan sharpest fall in AsiaTaiwan registered the region's sharpest fall, the Taiex slipping 0.96 percent to 4,633.03. Tech plays were down on Nasdaq's fall. Screenmaker Au Optronics lost 3.67 percent to T$23.60. Chip foundry UMC lost 2.27 percent to T$25.80 and bigger rival TSMC slipped 1 percent to T$50.00. Macronix topped the volume but slipped 1.12 percent to T$13.30. It made strong gains on Tuesday after Intel Corp. raised prices in flash-memory chips, the main Macronix product. Computer maker Acer lost 2.27 percent to T$30.10, but there were gains in some domestic plays, with Asia Cement putting on 2.42 percent to T$12.70. Korea slightly aheadSouth Korea's Kospi finished 0.83 percent higher at 708.07, recovering from losses at the open. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was up 0.4 percent to 380,000 won, but rival Hynix Semiconductor was off 3.23 percent to 450 won, with creditors still mulling bailout options for the troubled chipmaker. Carmaker Hyundai Motor put on about 1 percent to 34,100 won. Singapore's Straits Times index ended down 0.74 percent to 1,394.94 but was propped by gains in a few techs. Datacraft closed 3.57 percent higher at S$0.725. Chartered Semiconductor zoomed up 7.69 percent to S$0.98 after it said it has teamed with IBM to develop chip technology and share manufacturing operations. (Full story)
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