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Tokyo slips close to 19-year low
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian markets closed mainly lower Wednesday, with Japan testing multi-year lows after just one day of respite. The Nikkei 225 average fell for the tenth day out of 11, ending 1.96 percent lower at 8344.01. That was within sight of its November 14 close of 8,303.39, which was the lowest since 1983. Big caps NTT DoCoMo, Toyota and Sony were among the losers. Heavy falls by big banking stocks dragged the broader Topix index to its lowest in 18 years. It fell 1.94 percent to 815.74, its lowest close since October 1984. Hong Kong ended down more than 1.5 percent, losing more ground in afternoon trade. But South Korea and New Zealand registered gains of 0.67 percent and 0.54 percent, respectively. Taiwan finished 0.21 percent lower and Australia essentially was flat, losing just 0.01 percent. Singapore sold off in late trade to end down more than half a percent, having spent most of the day at break-even. U.S. stocks crunched lower on Tuesday, after McDonald's warned it would post its first quarterly loss as a public company. Micron Technology hurt techs by posting a wider loss than expected. The Dow Jones industrial closed down 1.07 percent to 8,535.39, while Nasdaq fell 0.59 percent. (U.S. roundup) Financials off in TokyoJapan's debt-laden banks were on the slide Wednesday after their strong gains a day earlier. Mizuho Holdings had the biggest fall, down 6.78 percent to 110,000 yen.
Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group fell 5.83 percent to 630,000 yen, UFJ Holdings was off 3.67 percent to 105,000 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 5.72 percent to 346,000 yen. Toyota Motor fell 2.85 percent to 3,070 yen and Honda Motor was off 2.27 percent to 4,300 yen after Japan's top two auto companies forecast sales for next year. Honda said it is expecting a record in 2003 (Full story), mimicking Toyota's prediction of a day earlier. (Full story) Nissan also eased, down 2.11 percent to 928 yen. Among techs, Tokyo Electron lost 2.63 percent to 5,180 yen, Kyocera fell 3.44 percent to 7,010 yen and Sony eased 1.38 percent to 5,000 yen. NEC was a rare gainer, up 0.68 percent to 447 yen. Oil Search hurting in SydneyIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed basically flat, down 0.01 percent at 2,986.5. Market heavyweight News Corp. rose 0.67 percent to A$12.10 to help offset losses by other big caps Telstra and banks NAB, CBA, ANZ and Westpac. Oil Search Ltd. topped the volume with a 25 percent collapse to A$0.60 after Australia Gas Light Co. said it was unlikely to buy gas from the Papua New Guinea-Queensland pipeline project. (Full story) Recent gains in the price of oil left BHP Billiton unchanged at A$9.90, but Rio Tinto lost 0.92 percent to A$33.43 after overnight losses in Britain. Burns Philp was up 1.05 percent at A$0.48 as it proceeds with its offer for food group Goodman Fielder, off 0.56 percent to A$1.79. Shopping center owner Westfield slipped 0.3 percent to A$3.45 after announcing another U.S. mall purchase. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.54 percent to 1,920.88, as Telecom New Zealand gained 2.73 percent to NZ$4.51. Air New Zealand moved up 2 percent to NZ$0.51 after the New Zealand government approved its alliance with Australian carrier Qantas. (Full story) The New Zealand stock exchange said it was putting off the introduction of a Top 50 index, which will replace the Top 40, until February. Wheelock tumbling in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended down 1.72 percent to 9,548.65, led by losses in Wheelock.
The developer lost 6.72 percent to HK$5.45 after its New Asia Realty subsidiary said it plans to buy out Realty Development Corp., another subsidiary. Some investors had been speculating that Wheelock would take both subsidiaries private. (Full story) Bank stock and No. 1 listing HSBC finished down 1.13 percent at HK$87.50 after fresh figures showed lending decreased in London, its base. Higher oil prices hurt shares in airline Cathay Pacific, down 2.67 percent to HK$10.95. Taiwan slides on China SteelIn Taiwan, the Taiex lost 0.21 percent to 4,535.93 as chip foundry UMC fell again. It lost 1.74 percent to T$22.60. Rival TSMC added 0.42 percent to T$48.00 Chunghwa Telecom put on 0.61 percent to T$49.60 after the government sold a 13.5 percent stake in the island's leading telecom to a local consortium. (Full story) The leader of the bid, Cathay Financial, advanced 3.9 percent after saying the investment will add T$2.4 billion a year to net profits. China Steel again topped the volume and was flat at T$19.50. Korea moves up on chip gainsSouth Korea's Kospi index rose 0.67 percent to 709.22, with Samsung Electronics 1.13 percent higher to 357,500 won.
Industry peer Hynix Semiconductor rose 7.04 percent to 380 won. Kookmin Bank, the country's largest lender, was up 2.73 percent to 47,100 won and big exporter Hyundai Motor added 3.04 percent to 32,250 won. Singapore's Straits Times sold off just before the close to end down 0.62 percent at 1,334.66. Chip foundry Chartered Semiconductor fell 1.27 percent to S$0.78 in heavy trade. Creative Technology was down 1.55 percent to S$12.70. Higher fuel prices also hurt Singapore Airlines, which lost 1.92 percent to S$10.20. Takeover target NatSteel closed up 0.49 percent at $2.06 after 98 Holdings lifted its offer slightly. (Full story)
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