Japan ends lower on dismal earnings


Giant chipmaker Toshiba Corp is the latest company to unveil a disappointing earnings results

HONG KONG, China -- Japan and other key Asian markets ended the day lower after chip issues crashed on the back of dismal corporate earnings results.

Hong Kong was the standout exception, with the Hang Seng index jumping almost 2.3 percent.

That came on strong gains by market heavyweights Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings, the twin flagships of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.

Hutchison is part of a $750 million bailout plan for Global Crossing.

Markets in Singapore and Australia also closed in the black, but Tokyo, Korea and Taiwan were down.

Japanese share prices ended lower to break a three-day winning streak, after leading chipmaker Toshiba Corp issued an earnings forecast that came in under market expectations.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average closed down 194.82 points or 1.91 percent at 10,026.03, while the broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index fell 18.30 points or 1.84 percent to 978.74.

Toshiba falls on earnings

Shares in Toshiba, Japan's biggest chipmaker, fell 1.13 percent to 439 yen after the company announced an expected operating loss of 135 billion yen ($1.01 billion) for the current business year to end-March.

The previous forecast was for a loss of 110 billion yen.

The earnings estimate was worse than what was indicated in a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report, which estimated Toshiba's consolidated operating loss at 130 billion yen.

Seoul shares also ended a six-day winning streak after disappointing December output data and a debt default by a medical equipment maker sent the market down.

Shares of Medison Co., maker of ultrasonic diagnostic scanners, were suspended after creditors declared the firm insolvent for failing to pay debts that matured on Monday and Tuesday.

The benchmark Kospi index ended the day 0.80 percent lower at 774.03, while the over-the-counter Kosdaq fell 1.13 percent to 799.09.

Packer stocks up

In Australia, stocks associated with media and gaming tycoon Kerry Packer stood out and helped an otherwise quiet overall market to edge to a firmer close.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index finished up 10.6 points or 0.3 percent at 3,452.9.

About 6.5 percent of shares in Packer's investment company CPH Investment Corp were specialled by Merrill Lynch in two trades worth A$25 million. The stock closed up one cent at 43.5 cents.

A CPH spokesperson declined to comment but brokers and fund managers did not rule out Packer, who controls about 30 percent of CPH, as the seller.

Small minerals explorer Cluff Resources, 13-percent owned by Packer, became the heaviest traded issue and finished steady at A$2.2 cents.

But media giant News Corp dropped 2.4 percent to A$13.60 on expectations it would post a dismal batch of second-quarter earnings. Resources group BHP Billiton also fell 2.1 percent to A$11.18.

In Taiwan, stocks ended lower as uncertainty over the Micron-Hynix merger talks triggered heavy selling in chip shares, analysts said.

The benchmark Taiex index finished down 161.14 points or 2.68 percent at 5,846.19, dragged down by a sell-off in chip stocks.

Memory chipmaker Winbond Electronics shed 3.6 percent to T$26.90.

Telecoms surge

Hong Kong shares rose after a 6.5 percent leap in China Mobile, and futures-led buying on hopes the U.S. will leave interest rates unchanged this week,

The Hang Seng Index jumped 2.29 percent to close at 11,014.24, lifted by gains in telecom shares.

Internet and media firm tom.com surged 8.45 percent at HK$3.85 after saying it has formed two telecoms joint ventures with China's CERNET Corporation.

China's dominant mobile phone operator China Mobile rose to HK$22.85 after a Chinese official said Beijing had no immediate plans to issue more mobile phone licenses in the near future.

Hutchison Whampoa rose 3.82 percent to HK$74.75 as investors reacted favorably to its investment in troubled U.S. undersea operator Global Crossing.

Under a proposed rescue plan for the bankrupt U.S. company, Hutchison and Singapore Technologies Telemedia will pay $750 million to take a combined 70 to 80 percent stake in Global Crossing.

In Singapore, shares were slightly higher in late afternoon as a negative outlook from Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing capped gains in blue chips.

The bellwether Straits Times index was up 0.52 percent at 1,782.11.

Chartered fell 2.45 percent to S$4.78 after it posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $127.2 million.

But Creative Technology climbed 4.91 percent to S$23.50 after posting strong quarterly results, and on optimism about a new product launch.

OCBC Bank rose 3.20 percent to S$12.90, while Keppel Corp was up 2.63 percent to S$3.90.