Asian stocks end with narrow gains, bar Japan

By staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China - Asian stocks scraped through Friday with narrow gains. But Japan, the region's biggest market, lost three-quarters of a percent.

Hong Kong again had a particularly strong showing, feeding off U.S. stock gains overnight. South Korea and Taiwan edged into the black.

Australia and New Zealand both put on around half a percent.

Other Asian markets were trading in a tight range, with most of them in positive territory. Singapore's Straits Times index was up 2 points at 1,411.25 near the end of trade.

Chips go bad in Japan

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei closed with a loss of 0.78 percent, at 10,795.16. The broader Topix was also down, but just 0.6 percent, at 1,101.22.

Chip stocks were down, as Toshiba, Japan's largest maker, posted a $1 billion loss. Its stock slumped 4.67 percent to 510 yen, as it surprised investors by revising earnings sharply down.

NEC, the world's chip No. 3 behind Intel and Toshiba, fell 2.8 percent to 1,242 yen after posting a $243 million loss. But its figures, unlike Toshiba's, came out after the close of trade.

Fujitsu ended the day down 3.3 percent at 962 yen. It reported large losses and was the first of Japan's Big Five chipmakers to file when it posted earnings on Wednesday.

Consumer electronics stocks were also seeing heavy trading, as Sanyo Electric Co. reported earnings. Its stock dropped 6.7 percent to 532 yen ahead of its weaker-than-expected numbers, which came out after the bell.

Sony Corp., though, rose 3.14 percent to 4,980 yen. It said late Thursday it dipped into the red in operating terms for the September quarter. But investors were jollied by the company's decision not to revise full-year forecasts.

Hang Seng strongest in Asia

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index powered ahead on U.S. gains, closing with a 1.57 percent gain at 10,404.74.

It has been hurt by the poor performance of American markets this year, but was one of the strongest performers on Friday.

Blue chips moved forward with steady rises. HSBC, Hong Kong's largest listing, rose 1.7 percent to HK$88.00.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest airline carrier, rose 6.4 percent to HK$8.30. It saw heavy losses in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Legend Holdings, the largest computer maker in mainland China, retreated from gains earlier in the day to end down 0.8 percent at HK$3.23.

China's B share markets ended their run of big rises, with Shanghai stocks putting on just 0.65 percent and Shenzhen, 1.47 percent. They both gained almost 10 percent on Tuesday after authorities said they'd stop selling government shares.

A week of gains in Sydney

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.7 percent to 3,276.2. It rose every day this week.

Banks moved forward, with both ANZ Bank and Commonwealth Bank saying on Thursday they saw solid profits ahead.

ANZ gained 0.6 percent to A$17.70. It posted an annual profit of A$1.87 billion on Thursday, at the top of forecasts.

Mining stock Rio Tinto rose 1.7 percent to A$32.45 as it said it would open an alumina refinery in Queensland.

News Corp., Sydney's largest listing, rose 1 percent to A$14.58, coming back from losses earlier in the day.

New Zealand's benchmark NZSE-40 Capital index ended the week with its fourth straight up day. The index gained 0.4 percent to 1,935.33.

Frucor Beverages hit a four-month high of NZ$2.47 after French food maker Danone launched a bid for the company on Wednesday at NZ$2.35.

Korea, Taiwan up

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi ended up 0.23 percent at 543.41.

Samsung Electronics, which reported earlier this week, dropped 1.1 percent to 180,000 won. It's the market's biggest stock.

Hynix Semiconductor, world memory chip No. 3, fell 0.55 percent to 940 won, in the heaviest trading.

Japanese chipmakers such as NEC have alleged Korean makers have been illegally dumping cheap chips in Japan and are reportedly mulling a suit against their Korean competitors.

SK Telecom rose 2.8 percent to 236,500 won. It files its first-half numbers on Nov. 7.

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex rose 0.8 percent to 4,043.57, one of the stronger showings in Asia.

The market was buoyed by Nasdaq's 2.5 percent gain overnight. The tech-laden U.S.index often leads the way for Taiwan's chip-driven market. The Dow closed Thursday with a gain of 1.25 percent.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained 0.8 percent to T$63.00. Taiwan's largest listing said it would build six new chip plants in Taiwan. After the close TSMC said it expected to see its sales and profits improve in the fourth quarter.

Reuters contributed to this report.