Asian stocks off on Marconi shock

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks tumbled again Friday, as the shock of several earnings disappointments in Europe and the United States hit home.

Tokyo stocks skidded for the third straight day to finish at their lowest point in more than 3 months. Australia sank to a new eight-week low.

Trading in Hong Kong market was canceled on Friday because of tropical storm Utor, still pouring rain on the south China coast.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei average shed 2.4 percent to 12,306.08, driven lower by its heavy tech bent. That is its lowest level since March 21.

The broader Topix index gave up a less-pronounced 1.7 percent to 1,253.56.

Sony hits 1999 levels in Japan

Telecom-parts makers and the broader tech sector in general soured after British telecom gear maker Marconi warned on earnings Thursday.

Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. slumped 4.5 percent to 7,250 yen. It lost ground every day this week, giving up 11.6 percent in all.

Sony is trading at levels last seen in September 1999, depressed by a spate of mobile phone recalls.

The Marconi downdraft saw fiber-optics maker Furukawa Electric Co. lose 3.4 percent to 835 yen. Handset maker Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. fell 4.4 percent to 4,960.

Chip shares lost ground after Hitachi said it has suspended output at a new cellular-phone chip plant due to slow demand. Hitachi fell 3.5 percent to 1,140 yen.

But defensive stocks gave a glimmer of hope. Tokyo Gas Co. rose 2.0 percent to 400 yen.

Sydney down 0.7 percent

In Sydney, renewed fears about earnings and overseas markets saw stocks dip to their lowest in two months.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index sagged 0.7 percent to 3,353.9, just one week after it saw out Australia's financial year on a record high of 3,490.3.

The market's recent spurt has worried some investors, despite evidence the domestic economy is picking up.

"Given the global outperformance of the Australian share market, some investors are questioning the possibility of further gains," said Commonwealth Securities' chief economist Craig James.

Stocks with large overseas operations slumped, including Australia's biggest stocks, media giant News Corp. and telco Telstra.

News Corp, which draws about 70 percent of its earnings from the United States, fell 2.6 percent to A$17.86.

Marconi also got to Telstra, which hit its lowest in over three years during the day. It closed down 2.1 percent at A$5.05.

Big miners also weighed on the market. BHP Billiton dropped 1.4 percent to A$10.60, and Anglo-Australian giant Rio Tinto fell 1 percent to A$34.70.

Chip makers drag South Korea down

Taiwan and New Zealand finished just negative, with the NZ-40 Capital index down 0.01 percent at 2,047.02.

Taipei's Taiex index lost 0.1 percent to close at 4,707.01. Losses in electronics stocks were somewhat offset by gains in bank shares.

In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 2.5 percent to close at 578.54. Large chipmakers were hurt by the clouds over earnings.

A warning from U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices hit chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics, down 4.9 percent to 183,500 won.

Hynix Semiconductor closed off 6.7 percent at 2,315 won, its lowest point this year.

Singapore's Straits Times index was down 1.5 percent at 1,663.21 in the afternoon.

Malaysia bucked the trend, the benchmark index rising 1.6 percent to 627.10 in afternoon trade.

It has risen around 6 percent for the week, though it is still one of Asia's laggards this year.

Reuters contributed to this report.