Tokyo leads region to lower close


Shares in mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo ended 2.3 percent lower Wednesday

TOKYO, Japan -- Asian stocks again ended lower Wednesday, with Tokyo leading the region down on tech nerves and the fall in U.S. consumer confidence.

Declines on Wall Street Tuesday also sapped regional investor interest -- except in New Zealand and Korea.

In Seoul, spectacular gains by embattled chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor helped the Kospi close 0.74 percent higher, while a big trans-Tasman media deal pushed the NZSE Top 40 to a 17-point gain, up 0.88 percent to 1958.

Most markets were down only slightly. Australia was off just 0.1 percent, Hong Kong eased 0.02 percent and Taiwan was down 0.3 percent.

Outside of Japan, the biggest fall was in Singapore, where the Straits Times was off about 1 percent near the close.

In Tokyo the benchmark Nikkei 225 average finished at its low point of the day, down 146.48 points or 1.39 percent at 10,366.34.

Fourth day of declines

It was the fourth straight day of declines in Japan, where technology-related stocks have been warning this week of losses ahead.

Leading computer, chip and consumer electronic stocks such as Sony, Canon, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC and Hitachi were all lower, as was mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo.

Only leading chipmaker Toshiba made it into the black, finishing 0.89 percent higher at 453 yen.

The broader capital-weighted TOPIX index, which is less sensitive to tech stocks, was down 8.39 points or 0.79 percent to 1,059.37.

Asia's declines followed another bad day on Wall Street Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing 147.52 points or 1.6 percent lower at 9121.98.

The Nasdaq composite index also slipped, losing 32.1 points or 1.9 percent to 1667.41.

Dragging on the markets was a fall in the U.S. consumer confidence index to a 7-1/2 year low of 85.5 in October, down from 97 in September.

The war in Afghanistan was also making investors nervous. After the market closed Monday, U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft said there could be a new terrorist attack over the next week.

News picks up ground in Australia

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 finished at 3249.6 for a loss of 3.2 points. Market heavyweight News Corp recovered 18 cents or 1.33 percent to A$13.68, while the big four banks all ended higher.

Resources stocks BHP, Rio Tinto and WMC eased, as did retailer Woolworths and brewers Foster's and Lion Nathan.

Across the Tasman, the market digested the confirmation Wednesday of a long-mooted deal in which Irish tycoon Tony O'Reilly shuffled his Australian and New Zealand media assets, with APN News buying NZ's Wilson & Horton for about $408 million plus assumed debt of about $210 million.

In Seoul, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics gave up 0.3 percent to 173,500 won, while leading telco SK Telecom rose 2.3 percent to 245,500 won.

But embattled Chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor was the big gainer, putting on almost 15 percent or 145 won to 1115 won, ahead of a crucial creditors' meeting later in the day.

Technology stocks generally weaker

Tokyo technology stocks were generally weaker.


Matsushita was a rare gainer in Tokyo, putting on half a percent

Canon, which slashed its profit outlook 14 percent after the market closed Monday, was down again Wednesday, losing 0.56 percent to 3550 yen. Chipmakers Fujitsu lost 1.6 percent, Hitachi was down 1.4 percent while NEC dropped more than 5 percent, losing 59 yen to 1110.

Sony, now the world's largest consumer electronic company, was off 2.5 percent to 4630 yen, while rival Matsushita, which said Tuesday it expected a loss of $2.2 billion for the year to next March, finished the day up slightly, putting on 7 yen or half a percent to 1450 yen.

The top three automakers, Toyota, Nissan and Honda all gave ground. Nissan lost 2.35 percent to 540 yen after its long-awaited 15 percent stake in major shareholder Renault was confirmed.

With the U.S. as Hong Kong's second biggest trading partner, the sharp drop in American consumer confidence saw the Hang Seng index fall in Wednesday morning trade to a low of 9945, before it recovered to end at 10,073.97, down just 2.46 points or 0.02 percent.

In Taiwan, tech stocks were mixed, with chip foundries TSMC and UMC easier, but Hon Hai Precision and Asustek among the gainers.

The Taiex finished at 3903.49, down 12.12 points or 0.31 percent.