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Japan slips on banking decline
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian stocks closed mainly higher Thursday, but an afternoon plunge in the banking sector saw Tokyo end in the red. Japan's Mizuho Financial Group dropped almost 11 percent to a record low of 72,700 yen as traders dumped bank holdings. Asian markets initially rose on investor confidence that the U.S.-led drive on Baghdad could mean an early end to the war in Iraq. That optimism faded on news Thursday of aircraft losses. Taiwan finished with the best gain, up about 1.1 percent. South Korea, Australian and Singapore also posted higher figures, while New Zealand finished just in the red, down 0.05 percent. Hong Kong lost 0.67 percent, reflecting worries about the impact of the SARS virus on its economy. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average closed 0.65 percent lower at 8017.75, down from a high of 8178. The broader Topix index lost 0.49 percent to 793.68. The market's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, ended 0.87 percent higher at 232,000 yen. Automakers Nissan and Honda also closed higher, but Toyota gave up early gains to finish 0.75 percent down at 2645 yen. Big consumer electronics exporter Sony eked out a gain of 0.24 percent to 4160 yen and Canon rose 2.15 percent to 4280 yen. Tech-related issues were mixed, with Toshiba down 1 percent to 311 yen and NEC 1.3 percent higher to 390 yen. The big falls were among the banks as traders decided they were headed for more trouble. Mizuho Financial Group, the world's biggest bank by assets, sank 10.8 percent to 72,700 yen, another record low. yen. SMFG plunged 7.5 percent to 173,000 yen -- also a record low -- and UFJ lost 6.73 percent to 99,800 yen. While Tokyo was easier, the gains in other Asian markets came after a strong performance on Wall Street Wednesday, where shares moved higher on optimism that the war in Iraq might end sooner than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average put on 2.7 percent to close at 8,285.06, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 3.6 percent to 1396.72. (Full story) In South Korea, Seoul's Kospi index rose 0.43 percent to 545.24, with market heavyweight Samsung Electronics unchanged at 279,000 won and big exporter Hyundai Motor up 1.31 percent to 23,200 won. Banks were also higher, led by Shinhan Financial Group and Kookmin Bank. Big steelmaker Posco rose 1.41 percent to 100,500 won. Australia higherIn Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 put on 0.91 percent to 2908.6, driven forward by a 3.26 percent gain for the market's biggest stock, media group News Corp. News, which is expected to make a bid for U.S. satellite broadcaster DirecTV, finished at A$11.39 after going as high as A$11.56. (Full story) Big resources group BHP Billiton ended 2.4 percent higher at A$9.41 and airline Qantas also recovered from last week's sharp decline to close up 2.61 percent at A$3.14. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.21 percent to 1,302.54, with good gains for banks OCBC and DBS. Shares in shipping and property conglomerate Keppel Corp rose 2.36 percent to S$4.34 on expectations its offshore units were set to secure more contracts. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished 0.67 percent in the red at 8648.16, with falls for PCCW, China Mobile and China Unicom. Big banks HSBC and Standard Chartered are modestly higher. Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.1 percent higher at 4358.39, pushed higher by a 2.57 percent gain for chip foundry TSMC, at T$43.90. Its smaller rival UMC added 1.54 percent to T$19.80. New Zealand's Top 50 ended virtually flat, down 0.05 percent to 1931.61. Air New Zealand and Telecom NZ both finished in the red.
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