Tokyo bank stocks lead falls
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Thai stocks are in reverse as avian flu grips the country.
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TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese stocks have closed lower Monday, led by a slide among banks after a weekend report on UFJ Holdings hurt investor confidence in Japan's financial sector.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea posted a solid gain, with the Kospi up 0.89 percent to 869.04.
In Thailand, the SET composite is down about 1.7 percent to 741.73 as the country battles the impact of the deadly bird flu.
Thailand's biggest chicken exporter Charoen Pokphand Foods fell 4.3 percent to 3.56 baht, adding to last week's 12 percent slump.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average slipped 0.87 percent to finish at 10,972.60, its first close below 11,000 since January 16.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.75 percent at 1068.85.
Shares of UFJ, the most active issue by value, plunged 11.65 percent to 470,000 yen after the Nihon Keizai business daily reported Japan's banking watchdog will conduct stricter inspections on loans by core unit UFJ Bank.
The Financial Services Agency discovered internal documents that evaluated the financial health of borrowers as worse than described in the bank's assessments, the report said.
Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's biggest lender by assets, dropped 3.4 percent to 315,000 yen. MTFG fell 1.9 percent to 809,000 yen and SMFG was off 2.4 percent to 571,000 yen.
Reports of the bank investigation outweighed an encouraging result for Japan's trade surplus.
It surged 52.4 percent in December from a year earlier to 722 billion yen ($6.8 billion) on strong demand as Asia's role as a production base grew, officials said Monday.
Asia-bound shipments, which accounted for about half of Japan's total exports, rose 16.2 percent to 2.44 trillion yen while imports grew 5.6 percent to 1.72 trillion yen.
For 2003, the trade surplus with Asia rose 37.6 percent to 5.61 trillion yen, with exports rising 12.9 percent to a record 25.32 trillion yen and imports climbing 7.4 percent to a record 19.71 trillion yen.
Manufacturing numbers for Singapore came on a day when its market moved into positive territory after the Chinese New Year holiday. It was up 13.41 points to 1902.97 in late trading.
Singapore Airlines is one of the largest winners, rising 1.79 percent to finish at S$11.30.
Singapore manufacturing output for December grew just 0.3 percent from a year earlier, showing a sharp slowdown from recent monthly figures and leaving 2003 growth at just 2.8 percent, the government said Monday.
December's slight gain followed growth of 8.1 percent in November and a 19.3 percent rise in October.
Samsung higher
South Korea's Kospi index was the most aggressive mover of the day, rising 7.67 points to 869.04, representing a 0.89 percent hike.
It was pushed forward by Samsung Electronics, which rose 3.761 percent, and SK Telecom, which increased 3.02 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index eased 0.14 percent to 13731.82 near the close.
PCCW lost its early gains to be just 0.83 percent higher at HK$6.10.
The New Zealand Top 50 Index did not move, remaining at 2503.14 points. The Australian Stock Exchange was shut Monday for a national holiday.
