Nikkei up on bank action
(CNN) -- Japan's Nikkei rose as banking stocks took the trading spotlight Thursday. A big gain for Mitsubishi Tokyo was offset by falls for UFJ and Mizuho.
The Nikkei closed almost half a percent higher, recovering from a midday dip, but the broader Topix ended flat, just in the red.
Tech-related issues were down, adding to Wednesday's steep falls.
Other Asian markets were also mainly weaker, with a drop of almost 1.5 percent in Taiwan. South Korea fell about half a percent after being down 2 percent at one stage.
Australia was virtually flat, up 0.1 percent, while New Zealand rose about half a percent.
Hong Kong is slightly lower heading towards the close, while Singapore is steady.
The dollar is firmer against the Japanese yen.
The Nikkei 225 stock average finished 0.46 percent higher at 11,409.14, clawing back some of Wednesday's 2.17 percent decline.
The broader Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished down 0.03 percent at 1151.12. The Topix dropped 1.28 percent on Wednesday.
High technology stocks were again weaker after being hit hard Wednesday. There were falls of 1.8 percent for Tokyo Electron and Toshiba, while Kyocera and NTT DoCoMo lost about 1 percent.
U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp. on Wednesday said its sales were lower than analysts had forecast, sending U.S. tech stocks tumbling.
Japanese banks were mixed after UFJ Holdings said Wednesday it decided to ask Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group to enter merger negotiations. (Full story)
UFJ fell 6.5 percent to 488,000 yen, while Mitsubishi Tokyo jumped 11.6 percent to 1.15 million yen. Mizuho lost 3.7 percent to 443,000 yen.
The dollar is quoted at 109.49 yen late Thursday, above the 109.14 yen it bought in New York Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Kospi in South Korea ended down 0.52 percent to 732.74, extending Wednesday's fall of almost 2 percent.
Samsung Electronics, the market's biggest stock, fell 2.3 percent to 408,500 won, but leading exporter Hyundai Motors put on 1.4 percent to 42,700 won.
Samsung said Thursday it expected LCD prices to fall by 10 percent in the second half. (Full story)
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 closed 0.09 percent higher at 3526.1. On Wednesday it ended down more than 1 percent to 3522.8, its biggest one-day fall since May 10.
National Australia Bank, which plunged almost 7 percent Wednesday after a profit warning, lost another 1.4 percent to close at A$28.45. (Full story)
Resources leader BHP Billiton and media group News Corp both rose about 1 percent.
Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.44 percent lower at 5542.8. Market heavyweight TSMC lost 2.7 percent to T$43.00.
New Zealand's Top 50 finished up 0.54 percent at 2693.47.
Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.04 percent to 1871.74.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is down 0.25 percent to 11,902.57. HSBC and Hutchison Whampoa are both about half a percent ahead.
On Wall Street Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.38 percent to 10,208.80 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.87 percent to 1914.88. (Full story)
