Asia stocks lurch with Japan at new low

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets continued to lurch lower on Friday.

A day after the Dow Jones industrial average closed below the 10,000 mark, Japan's Nikkei index threatened to pierce the same level.

The Nikkei set a new 17-year closing low, falling for the fourth straight day.

Stocks in Australia and New Zealand both moved lower. South Korea's market dropped sharply, as restructurings there hit rocky ground.

Taiwan's stocks eked out a slight gain, driven by government support moves. Singapore was trading flat in the afternoon.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 2.0 percent.

After the market closed, the government said the Chinese region's economy grew 0.5 percent in the second quarter, year-on-year. That's the slowest growth since the spring of 1999.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei finished down 2.1 percent at 10,713.51, after falling 4.06 percent on the week.

It fell to 10,684.16 in morning trade, its lowest intraday level since October 1984.

The broader Topix also dropped, but less sharply. It closed down 0.98 percent at 1,103.67 after briefly falling below the 1,100 mark for the first time since March 1999.

Hitachi joined the blood-letting, as technology companies slash jobs to improve profits.

Japan's largest electronics manufacturer, Hitachi slipped 4.32 percent to 974 yen. It said it would cut 14,700 jobs.

The market has typically rewarded those moves. But it also cut its bottom-line forecast for this business year to a loss of 140 billion yen ($1.17 billion), from a profit of 90 billion yen.

Third-ranked consumer electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. also halved its group net profit forecast for the six months to September, to 8.5 billion yen. It fell 4.5 percent to 535 yen.

A stronger yen also weighed on major exporters such as consumer electronics giant Sony Corp., which fell for a third day to close down 5.37 percent at 5,290.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's largest bank by assets, rose 2.5 percent to 492,000 yen.

It had fallen more than 10 percent in the previous two days, as it became clear dealing with problem loans in Japan will take longer than hoped.

In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.45 percent to 3,275.6 on Friday, a 2.2 percent slide over the week.

Australian stocks are now at their lowest since April 18.

Sydney's biggest listing, Rupert Murdoch's media giant News Corp. was a key drag. Weighted at about 10 percent of the index, the stock fell 3.4 percent to A$15.18.

Its efforts to buy U.S. satellite company DirecTV drag on and on.

Telecoms giant Telstra added to the gloom, dropping 1.4 percent to A$4.81.

That's its lowest close in over three years, as investors looked past Wednesday's 10.4 percent rise in net profit to A$4.1 billion (US$2.2 billion).

Telstra is the second-biggest stock trading in Australia.

Across the Tasman Strait, New Zealand's benchmark NZSE-40 index dropped 0.9 percent to 2,059.69.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index closed down 1.99 percent at 11,090.48.

That's its lowest close since early April 1999, edging towards the psychologically key 11,000 level.

Ahead of the disappointing GDP numbers, its U.S.-tied market was reeling from a 1.7 percent dip in the Dow Jones industrial average on Thursday. It ended at 9,919.58.

Bank HSBC Holdings, Hong Kong's biggest listing, fell 2.4 percent to HK$91.25.

Property behemoths Cheung Kong fell four percent and 1.85 percent, respectively.

A sharp rise in the stock of the mainland's biggest oil producer, PetroChina, lifted the H-share index, China-based companies trading in Hong Kong.

PetroChina's stock shot up 7.43 percent to HK$1.59 after reporting a 17.8 percent leap in its first half net profits, near the upper end of forecasts.

Offshore oil giant CNOOC rose 2.7 percent to HK$7.70, boosted by PetroChina's strong earnings news, making it the best performing blue chip on the day.

South Korean shares shed 3.4 percent to end at a one-month closing low. The benchmark Kospi settled to a close of 545.11.

Financial issues were under heavy pressure from ailing Hynix's debts and the stock declines in New York and Tokyo.

Bankrupt Daewoo Motor's listed affiliate, Daewoo Sales, rose 2.7 percent on the prospect of a deal to sell out to General Motors. That deal may be finalized in about a week.

Stock in brokerage Hyundai Securities fell 10.5 percent to 7,420 won, as a deal to sell it to a U.S. team led by American International Group edges to the brink of collapse.

Chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor fell to a fresh all-time low, down 5.7 percent to 830 won.

Its creditors put off a meeting on its restructuring to Monday, but investors are pessimistic about prospects.

Taiwan stocks closed slightly higher, as late state buying erased early losses.

The 2.8 plummet on Nasdaq hit Taiwan's tech-driven market hard. But government support saw it struggle to a slight gain, with the benchmark Taiex up 0.12 percent at 4,509.44.

It had fallen 0.11 percent on Thursday.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index was down 0.05 at 1,614.91 in afternoon trade.

Indian stocks were also down, off 1.0 percent, in afternoon trade in Mumbai.

Reuters contributed to this report.