Asian stocks close up on techs

Toshiba and other chipmakers benefitted from an industry report and Intel's well-received forecast

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks closed higher Friday, as tech stocks benefited from Intel-induced optimism in U.S. markets.

Markets in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea gained ground. Australia closed narrowly down after several earnings warnings.

In Tokyo, the tech-sensitive Nikkei stock average rose 1.15 percent higher at 13,430.22. It has recovered 3.4 percent since hitting a two-month low on Tuesday.

The capital-weighted Topix index climbed 0.5 percent to 1,318.09.

Techs were the main beneficiaries after Intel on Thursday said it stands by its forecast of second-quarter sales.

Chip makers like Toshiba rise

"The market is looking for an end to the recent instability in the Nasdaq. That is reflected in the strength in high-techs here and the Nikkei," said Tetsuya Ishijima, Okasan Securities' chief strategist.

Toshiba Corp, Japan's biggest chipmaker, jumped 2.4 percent to 685 yen. Hitachi Ltd. continued three days of gains, also rising 2.4 percent to 1,290 yen.

Kyocera Corp., the world's biggest maker of IC ceramic packages, jumped 4.5 percent to 12,170 yen.

But analysts and investors remain wary about the outlook for chip shares.

UFJ, one of Japan's "Big Four" banks, gained 1.1 percent to 665,000 yen. But the world's biggest bank by assets, Mizuho Holdings, fell 1.4 percent to 580,000 yen.

Hong Kong's cell-phone companies up

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended the day up 0.8 percent at 13,808.89. But it is still down more than 8 percent for the year.

The tech optimism lifted China's two largest mobile-phone operators. China Mobile ended up 3.2 percent at HK$41.80. China Unicom rose 2.7 percent to HK$13.35.

China's B shares continued to lose ground after scrapping the last restriction for local investors a week ago.

The U.S. dollar-denominated Shanghai B share index dropped 2.5 percent to 223.567. The Shenzhen B share index, of stocks traded in Hong Kong dollars, dropped 2.3 percent to 375.20.

In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.1 percent to 3,434.4. Investors sought the safety of blue chips and dumped stocks expected to disappoint on the earnings front.

"People don't want anything that could be exposed to problems, like tech stocks and second tier telcos," said Dicksons analyst Michael Heffernan.

The banking sector was a major negative. Australia's largest bank National Australia Bank closed down 2.6 percent at A$33.31.

Food company Goodman Fielder ended down 7.4 percent, near a 15-year low at A$1.13. It warned it expected a 5 percent drop in profits for fiscal 2001.

Energy company The Australian Gas Light Co. also warned on profits. It saw its stock drop 8 percent to A$9.48.

Conglomerate Brambles fell another 1.7 percent to A$48.20 in after warning on Wednesday.

South Korea rises over 3 percent

South Korean shares posted impressive gains, with the benchmark Kospi rising 3.4 percent to 621.78.

Chips and financials led the rally on a better outlook for chips and signs of progress in Korean economic reforms.

Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics finished up 4.4 percent after the Semiconductor Industry Association said the industry would rebound in the second half of 2001.

Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second largest DRAM chip maker, closed up 6.8 percent.

In Taipei, Taiwanese shares ended on a firm note. The main Taiex index rose 1.4 percent to 5,226.28. It rose 4.2 percent for the week as investors snapped up chip stocks.

The electronics index closed up 2.2 percent after the SIA put out its report. The banking and insurance sub-index rose 0.21 percent.

Reuters contributed to this report.