Tokyo stocks mixed, region stronger

Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has got the PSE stock exchange moving up

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks ended Wednesday morning mixed but core high-tech stocks retained the previous day's momentum.

Traders said there was a growing view that the U.S. Nasdaq market has hit a short-term floor.

AUDIO CNN's Deborah Wang with the Asian midday market report. 2.35 MB/1:52mins AIFF or WAV sound

By midday, the benchmark Nikkei average was down 33.77 points or 0.23 percent at 14,391.69, after rising as high as 14,444.84, its highest intraday level since December 19.

The capital-weighted TOPIX index of all shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section firmed 5.22 points or 0.37 percent to 1,416.91.

Elsewhere in the region, most markets were firmer. The PSE index in Manila surprised with a 3 percent gain, while the KLSE composite index in Malaysia was up 2 percent on news that the government was lifting the final overseas investment restriction.

Australia, Hong Kong and Korea were also stronger.

Long weekend coming up

In Tokyo, many investors were hesitant to buy aggressively ahead of a long weekend and after the benchmark Nikkei rose 3.5 percent the previous day.

The Tokyo financial markets will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Golden Week holidays.

"Among high-tech issues, those with strong earnings prospects will likely keep their momentum for a while," said Bunzo Yota, general manager at Asahi Tokyo Investment Trust Management.

"Institutional investors don't have to shift part of their money to lower-priced issues since the Nasdaq seems to have hit a bottom," he said.

Investors started to lock in profits in such semiconductor-related stocks as Toshiba Corp and Yokogawa Electric Corp.

Hitachi, Sony make good gains

Hitachi, whose earnings results for the year that ended in March beat company and analysts' expectations, posted a solid 1.42 percent gain to 1,357 yen, adding to Tuesday's 11.69 percent rally on the earnings results.

High-tech bellwether Sony Corp firmed 2.21 percent to 9,730 yen after last week's healthy earnings reports.

Japan Telecom extended the previous day's 8.74 percent gain after news that British Telecommunications Plc is in talks to sell its 20 percent stake in Japan's third-biggest

Hong Kong stocks rose sharply on Wednesday morning following Wall Street gains, with China-linked technology stocks performing strongly as investors bet they would outperform their global peers.

The Hang Seng Index was up 2.61 percent to 13,7323.28 just after midday. Hong Kong's markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday for public holidays.

China's biggest personal computer maker Legend Holdings and the country's largest mobile phone operator China Mobile led the Hang Seng's gains.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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