Stocks in Japan, Australia close up

Japanese investors bought knocked-down techs and cheaper stocks

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks eked out gains Thursday. Japan ended up, and Australia posted its first gains of the week.

But an earthquake marred markets in Taiwan, and Hong Kong and Korea closed down.

Tokyo stocks closed marginally higher. The benchmark Nikkei average rose 0.2 percent, to 12,846.66, ending two days of losses. But it is down 6.8 percent for the year.

Investors were buying high-tech blue chips and cheaper stock, after recent declines. The U.S. dollar fell slightly against the yen.

The broader Topix ended slightly down, off 0.1 percent at 1,271.83.

Toshiba Corp., Japan's top chipmaker, rose 1.43 percent to 639 yen. It hit a three-month low of 633 on Wednesday.

Electronics parts maker TDK Corp. also posted a modest rebound, tacking on 0.81 percent to 6,210 yen. TDK marked a five-year trough of 6,140 on Wednesday.

Banks down in Japan

The bank index lost 1.9 percent to its lowest close since October 1998.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's largest bank by assets, slipped 2.8 percent to 515,000 yen, after hitting a lifetime low of 506,000.

Mitsubishi Financial Group lost 4.7 percent to 1.01 million yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Group shed 1.2 percent to 925 yen.

Banks have been bearing the brunt of Japan's economic slump, and poor numbers for Japanese economic growth this week are hitting home.

Australia near record

Australian stocks rose , with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.7 percent to 3,411.9.

It reversed morning losses and is again near its record close of 3,436.6 from earlier this month.

No. 1 telecom Telstra Corp. clawed back some of its steep losses after this week's earnings warning.

Telstra, which accounts for 5 percent of the index, rose 2.8 percent to A$5.85. Two days of heavy losses wiped 15 percent off the stock and about A$6.5 billion off the market value.

Insurer and funds manager AMP rose 3.7 percent to A$21.28. The company announced it was in talks to sell its general insurance business, after more than six months of speculation.

Woodside Petroleum gained 44 cents to A$16.39, after touching a record high of A$16.45.

Hong Kong down on China losses

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 2.0 percent to close at 13,248.89.

Stocks were hurt by selling in China-oriented shares and by weak sales figures from the U.S., Hong Kong's second biggest export market.

The H-share index of Chinese-incorporated companies listed in Hong Kong plunged 5.2 percent. Chinese regulators are trying to clamp down on hot money moving into Hong Kong from the mainland to play H shares.

Many investors expect them to open to Chinese investors. Hong Kong's red chip index, of Hong Kong-based companies that do most of their business in China, lost 5.3 percent.

Gas distributor Hong Kong & China Gas was a bright spot. Its shares gained 4.3 percent to HK$9.70.

The company announced a share buyback and a tie-up with Royal Dutch/Shell to bid on building a west-east gas pipeline in China.

An earthquake rattled stocks in Taiwan, sending the benchmark Taiex down 1.7 percent to 5,119.19.

The quake hit 6.2 on the Richter scale and brought memories of a vicious quake that disrupted chip production.

This quake brought no immediate reports of damage or casualties. But confidence was shaken.

Contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Taiwan's biggest stock, fell 1.6 percent to T$92.50.

Rival United Microelectronics Corp. dropped 1.9 percent to T$52.00. Together they account for around 20 percent of the market.

South Korean shares erased early gains to close barely lower. The benchmark Kospi lost 0.1 percent to 613.75.

Traders noticed heavy computer selling on a "double-witching day," with futures and options expiring.

Drug makers and insurance companies had good gains. Drug maker Yuhan hit a two-year high of 58,000 won.

Samsung Electronics, Korea's biggest stock, fell 1.2 percent to 211,500 won.

Stocks were narrowly in the black in afternoon trade in Singapore. The Straits Times index rose 0.04 percent to 1,696.75.

Reuters contributed to this report.