Techs keep Nikkei higher, but banks fall


Mizuho Holdings was the only one of the big Japanese banks to regain some ground Wednesday morning

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks were higher by midday Wednesday, with technology stocks making a strong showing to offset the continuing slide among big banks.

Other markets in the region were also higher, with Korea jumping 4.6 percent and Hong Kong up about 1.7 percent.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 average was up 1.01 percent or 105.75 points to 10,558.40, after tech optimism in the U.S. saw Wall Street close higher Tuesday.

The broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index added 0.56 percent or 5.79 points to 1034.29.

Virtually all tech stocks were higher, though consumer electronics leader Sony Corp. dipped 50 yen before recovering to be up 10 yen at 5860 yen.

Playstation sales blocked

The early fall came after the Dutch government said it had blocked the sale of more than 1.3 million PlayStation One consoles and accessories in November because the cables contained too much cadmium. Sony's new PlayStation 2 consoles are not involved.

Fujitsu, Canon, NEC, Toshiba and Hitachi all made good gains, as did telco giant NTT and its mobile arm NTT DoCoMo.

Pioneer, the world's largest audio equipment maker, jumped 6.06 percent to 3150 yen, while chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 6.88 percent to 6840 yen, after UBS Warburg said the battered industry had hit bottom.

Most Japanese big banks, hard-hit earlier this week over fears about their exposure to U.S. energy trader Enron, continued to lose ground.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, was the only one to recover a little, picking up 2000 yen or 0.74 percent to 271,000 yen.

It closed Tuesday at a record low of 269,000 yen, with its shares now down about 70 percent from their intraday high of 964,000 yen marked in October 2000.

Banks continue to slide

Rival UFJ weakened further, losing 14,000 yen or 4 percent to 331,000 yen -- also a record low.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Japan's second-largest bank, gave up 1 percent to 586 yen, close to its record low of 582 yen. up 4.06 percent to 331,000 yen.

SMBC dived 7.06 percent in the previous session after Japan's second-largest bank said its exposure to Enron and related businesses was $210 million.

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group lost 1.96 percent to 799,000 yen. On Monday, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said its loan exposure to Enron and its related businesses was $247 million.

"Concerns about banks' credit risks continue to limit the market's upside potential," Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Shinko Securities, told Reuters.

Other markets in the region also were higher, with Korea leading the way on tech-related optimism. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore also were well up.

In Seoul, the Kospi was up 18.82 points or 2.9 percent to 668.72.

Hynix soars on alliance talks

Chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor continued to soar as it began talks Wednesday with U.S. rival Micron Technology about a possible strategic alliance. It added another 65 won or 2.4 percent to 2730 won, building on its sharp gains Monday and Tuesday.

Samsung Electronics was also higher, jumping 10.2 percent to 253,500 won.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 was up 18.7 points or 0.56 percent to 3343.1 after the central Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates Wednesday morning to 4.25 percent. The 0.25 percentage point cut was widely expected.

Banks, telcos and resources leader BHP Billiton were higher.

New Zealand's Top 40 was up 21.28 points or 1.05 percent to 2049.34.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 182 points to 11,600 shortly before noon, while in Taiwan, optimism about chip stocks sent the Taiex 3.3 percent higher, up 160 points to 4927.

Reuters contributed to this report.