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Asian stocks get New Year boost
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks closed mainly higher Tuesday, as many markets resumed trading after the Lunar New Year break. Japan delivered mixed results, with the broad Topix index up 0.78 percent to 844.26. But a burst of late selling saw the Nikkei average dip just into the red, closing down 0.19 percent at 8,484.90. South Korea registered a gain of just over half a percent, while Australia eased in afternoon trading to close up just 0.14 percent. New Zealand put on 0.7 percent, buoyed by earnings from its biggest stock, Telecom New Zealand. Hong Kong closed flat as the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday comes to an end. Singapore ended just under half a percent higher after its extended weekend. Taiwan's market remains closed in honor of the New Year, while the Malaysian market is closed for Federal Territory Day. Wall Street nudged ahead on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 0.7 percent to 8,109.82 and Nasdaq ahead 0.22 percent to 1,323.79. (U.S. roundup) U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's upcoming address to the United Nations on Iraq is a focus of investor interest. Telecoms show strong gains
In Tokyo on Tuesday, the market initially extended Monday's 2 percent runup, with banks and telecoms seeing strong gains. But some blue chips eased near the close. Mobile-phone No. 2 KDDI put on 3.14 percent to 361,000 yen on a report that it would post a better than expected profit for the 2003 business year. After the close, it unveiled a strong net profit figure of 30.9 billion yen ($257 million). (Full story) KDDI's move boosted industry leader NTT DoCoMo, Tokyo's largest listing, which closed 2.63 percent higher to 234,000 yen. Parent NTT was up 1.0 percent to 404,000 yen. No. 2 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group initially rose, but closed 0.26 percent lower at 384,000 yen on a report that it will seek at least 100 billion yen ($831 million) in capital by issuing preferred stock. (Full story) UFJ Holdings topped the bank advances with a 2.7 percent rise to 152,000 yen. Mizuho Holdings, which jumped almost 10 percent on Monday, finished unchanged at 126,000 yen. The yen is trading a little stronger at 120.02 late in the Asian day, after weakening substantially on Monday. The easing currency pressure did little to boost major Japanese exporters, with Honda Motor down 2.38 percent to 4,100 yen and Sony off 1.25 percent to 4,740 yen. Nissan Motor gave up 0.22 percent to 923 yen despite saying it will buy back 34.8 million shares before the end of March. Among heavy industrials, steelmaker JFE Holdings jumped 5.19 percent to 1,641 yen. Hong Kong flat after breakHong Kong's Hang Seng closed flat, down 0.07 percent at 9,252.71, after opening higher. The market was closed for a four-day weekend to honor the start of the Year of the Goat. Bank stock HSBC clawed back some of the ground it has lost over the last two weeks, up 0.61 percent to HK$82.75. Small-motor maker Johnson Electric was one of the best gainers, up 3.91 percent to HK$9.30 after some encouraging economic figures out of the United States, its biggest market. Hutchison Whampoa ended down 0.82 percent at HK$48.60 as it announced it is selling its European water business, Powwow, to Nestle for 560 million euros. Fears about war in Iraq drove down airline Cathay Pacific's shares, with it closing down 2.15 percent to HK$11.40. News Corp. drives Sydney up
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished up 0.14 percent to 2,946.6. Market heavyweight News Corp. advanced 1.25 percent to A$11.31 after U.S. gains. The media group will release first half results next week. Resources stocks also did well, with Rio Tinto up 1.79 percent to A$32.94 and BHP Billiton ahead 3.28 percent to A$9.12. Wine group Southcorp, which on Monday sacked its chief executive, rose again, up 2.5 percent to A$4.54. Rivals Foster's and BRL Hardy weakened. Property group Westfield Trust put on 0.29 percent to A$3.47 after reporting a strong profit result for 2002. (Full story) After early gains in line with a surge in the gold price to a six-year high of $374 an ounce, gold miners closed marginally higher. AngloGold was up 1.25 percent to A$12.15 and Lihir Gold rose 2.01 percent to A$1.52. New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.7 percent to 1,985.65, with Telecom New Zealand up 1.6 percent to NZ$4.52. New Zealand's largest listing posted a net profit of NZ$155 million for the quarter through December, slightly better than forecast. (Full story) The New Zealand stock exchange said a "Top 50" index will replace the Top 40 on March 3. South Korean big caps aheadIn South Korea, the Kospi put on 0.56 percent to 603.78, with some of its big caps narrowly ahead. Samsung Electronics, the largest listing on the market, rose 0.34 percent to 294,000 won, while No. 2 stock SK Telecom gave up early gains to finish unchanged at 183,500 won. Hyundai Motor jumped 2.88 percent to 26,800 won after new figures showed U.S. car sales rose 0.2 percent in January, over a year ago. Hynix Semiconductor soared the 15 percent daily limit to 270 won. Big steelmaker Posco was unchanged at 121,500 won. Flag carrier Korean Air was one of the day's best gainers, up 3.2 percent to 12,900 won. Singapore up slightlySingapore's Straits Times index finished up 0.39 percent to 1,296.59, with Singapore Airlines up 1.04 percent to S$9.75. There were also gains for bank stock DBS, up 1.96 percent to $10.40. But rivals UOB and OCBC both lost a little ground. Datacraft Asia climbed 2.2 percent to S$0.69 and was the second most-active ticker. SingTel topped the volume, ending flat at S$1.31.
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