Asia ends weaker on nervy techs

Japanese tech stocks were generally weaker Wednesday on worries about profitability in the U.S.

By staff and wire reports

TOKYO, Japan -- Asia's biggest markets closed lower Wednesday, with Japanese high-tech shares faltering on U.S. weakness. Australia and Korea were slightly softer.

In Tokyo, chip and PC makers NEC, Fujitsu, Toshiba and Hitachi all gave ground as the benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended 1.3 percent lower.

It lost 155.79 points to 12,163.67. The broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index slipped 6.46 percent or 0.53 percent to 1,217.92.

Taiwan was the only major market to close higher, putting on 110.10 points or 2.5 percent to 4514.10 after leading chipmakers TSMC and UMC both rose.

Hong Kong looked like it might join Taiwan in the black after opening firmer, but the Hang Seng index weakened in afternoon trade as the luster of HSBC's result and Sinopec's IPO began to fade.

Korea, Australia give ground

In Seoul, the Kospi finished the day down 1.56 points or 0.27 percent at 565.94, while in Australia the benchmark S&P/ASX200 gave up 4.4 points or 0.13 percent to 3402.6.

In Tokyo, the bounce seen earlier this week dissipated. High-tech shares took a beating after sharp profit declines by U.S. and Japanese technology firms, including TDK Corp.

"Funds with a short-term strategy are moving around. But the lack of visibility in the outlook for Japan's structural reforms and uncertainty over the U.S. economy, U.S. stocks and the attitude of investors there mean longer-term funds sit tight," Nobuaki Kurisu, chief fund manager at Sumisei Global Investment Trust Management, said.

Mobile telco NTT DoCoMo moved against the trend, rising on news it was gaining more subscribers

One bright spot was mobile telco NTT DoCoMo, which put on 40,000 yen or 2.2 percent to 1.85 million yen after it reported higher subscriber numbers.

Tokyo commuter operator Keisei Electric Railway Co Ltd, which hopes to benefit from an expected emphasis on urban development in the next budget, fell on profit-taking Wednesday. It lost 2.29 percent to 470 yen after its six-day, 21.5 percent winning streak.

Tokyo-based realtor Tokyu Land Corp, which had gained more than 25 percent on similar hopes in the past two weeks, retreated, falling 2.49 percent to 235 yen.

TDK slumps after profit falls

Electronic parts maker TDK slumped 3.75 percent to 6,160 yen after the company said its group operating profit for the June quarter fell 86.5 percent from a year earlier because of a high-tech slump.

In Taiwan, the world's biggest chip foundry, TSMC turned around from a three-day 6.4 percent decline to add 2.3 percent to NT$67.50. This came after a TSMC executive predicted semiconductor demand would rise next year.

TSMC's main competitor, United Micro Electronics, rose 1.34 percent toNT$37.70.

In Australia, market heavyweight News Corp lost its opening gains to close down 15 cents at A$18.05 as the market pondered EchoStar Communication's rival bid for DirecTV.

Analysts said EchoStar's bid, which they have valued at $29 billion to $32 billion, offered some attractions for GM, the ultimate owner of DirecTV through Hughes Electronics.

New dual-listed logistics and services company Brambles Industries disappointed the market with a 4.7 percent fall in the wake of its $9.8 billion merger with the industrial services units of GKN.

Korean techs mixed

In Seoul, tech stocks were mixed. SK Telecom added 400 won or 1.82 percent to 224,000 won, but Samsung Electronics lost 1.55 percent and Hynix Semiconductor was also easier.

In Hong Kong, early gains in heavyweights HSBC Holdings and China Mobile looked enough to keep the Hang Seng Index up, but an afternoon sell-off saw it end down 49.18 points or 0.41 percent at 11,958.01.

HSBC rose 0.82 percent to HK$91.75, off a high of HK$92.50, on continued buying after posting a better-than-expected first-half profit result on Monday. The stock rose 0.55 percent on Tuesday. China Mobile closed up 70 cents at HK$33.30

In Shanghai, the long-awaited debut of Sinopec shares in China's biggest initial public offering on Wednesday ran into the poor sentiment that has dragged down China's domestic markets for weeks.

Sinopec shares rose nine percent to 4.60 yuan at the opening and hit an intraday high of 4.70 yuan, but by the afternoon were hovering not far above their offer price of 4.22 yuan.

In Singapore, markets were largely unchanged. DBS Bank and Singapore Telecom were slightly higher. The STI was at 1645.53, down 11.58 points or 0.7 percent late in the afternoon.

Reuters contributed to this report.