Asian stocks slide in afternoon trade

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks slipped in afternoon trade on Thursday, as Japan turned sharply down.

Australia and Hong Kong, the second- and third-biggest Asia-Pacific markets, were trading up.

But most of the region's other exchanges were posting losses, with South Korea down on the news of a restructuring.

Taiwan's Taiex was also off close to a percentage point. China's B shares were down at midday.

Singapore's Straits Times index was narrowly above last night's close in afternoon trade.

NTT DoCoMo down in Japan

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed the morning down 1.4 percent at 11,239.84.

That slide intensified, with the index down 1.8 percent in mid-afternoon trade.

The broader Topix was down 0.8 percent at the break. It was down 1.4 percent to 1,149.64 in afternoon trade.

NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's dominant cell-phone carrier and its largest stock, was pushing the losses.

Japan's biggest stock, and dominant cell-phone carrier, continues to slip

DoCoMo dropped 6.25 percent to 1.5 million yen on worries it may have to write down its investment overseas, particularly AT&T Wireless Group.

High-tech bellwether Sony Corp. fell 3.11 percent to 5,610 yen.

Japan's No. 1 chipmaker was suffering, down 2.3 percent at 561 yen at the break.

That was despite a 1.6 percent gain in Nasdaq overnight, driven by a particularly strong performance with chip stocks.

Circuit maker Kyocera rallied 0.4 percent to 7,580 yen, bouncing off losses induced by a report of a profit warning.

Australia up

Australia's benchmark S&P ASX/200 index was up 0.4 percent at 3,323.7 in afternoon trade.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was down almost two percent to A$30.19 after posting disappointing full-year earnings on Wednesday.

Australia's largest stock, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., lost 1.5 percent to A$16.58. Its efforts to buy U.S. satellite company DirecTV drag on.

Bionic ear maker Cochlear hit a record high A$46.00 before easing back. It was still up 2.2 percent at $45.65.

Cable and Wireless Optus rose almost 3 percent to A$3.73, its highest since June, after Australia greenlighted SingTel's A$17 billion bid to take it over.

It's Australia's No. 2 telecom. Its larger rival, Telstra Corp., fell 2 cents to A$4.82.

In New Zealand, the benchmark NZSE-40 capital index was up 0.9 percent at 2,038.16.

Hong Kong maps U.S. gains

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished the morning up 0.59 percent at 11,254.18.

It tends to map U.S. movements, with its currency and interest rates linked to the United States. So the Hang Seng was benefiting from the Dow Jones industrial average's 1.0 percent overnight gain.

Investors are waiting for earnings after the bell from Hutchison Whampoa and its property giant Cheung Kong affiliate.

The two flagship companies of Hong Kong's richest tycoon Li Ka-shing were trading up ahead of the earnings. Hutchison rose 0.77 percent to HK$65.50 by the end of the morning session, while Cheung Kong's stock gained 1.48 percent to HK$68.50.

China's cellular carriers China Mobile and China Unicom gained 1.2 percent to HK$25.40 and 2.6 percent to HK$9.85, respectively.

That was a recovery from heavy losses driven by fears new customers they're adding in China may not be as profitable as the rich customers they have already landed.

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi was slumping 0.7 percent at 571.08 in afternoon trade.

It was driven down by selling in its second-largest brokerage, Hyundai Securities. Investors sold it off to the tune of 6.6 percent, to 9,390 won, after bidding it up recently.

U.S. insurance giant American International Group led a team that on Thursday agreed to take management control of the brokerage and two other Hyundai companies.

Hynix Semiconductor, another restructuring story, dropped 3 percent to 1,580 won in the heaviest trading. Its creditors are looking to arrange a debt-equity swap that is angering competitors like Micron Technology, which views the bailout as tantamount to a government subsidy.

In Taipei, the benchmark Taiex was down 0.9 percent at 4,448.07 in afternoon trade.

Electronics stocks were slipping, led by the market's biggest stock, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The worlds biggest contract chip maker was down 0.8 percent at T$61.50 after a heavy slump in its overseas listing overnight.

Singapore's Straits Times index was up 0.1 percent at 1,633.87 in early afternoon.

Reuters contributed to this report.