Tokyo rebounds, other markets down


Tokyo shares staged a surprising rebound after investors picked up battered tech and bank issues

HONG KONG, China -- Tokyo shares gained ground by midday Thursday, lifted by banks and tech issues. But other Asian markets slumped on the back of Wall Street's retreat.

The Nikkei average rose 135.35 points or 1.44 percent to 9,556.20, boosted by a rebound in battered techs. The broader capital-weighted Topix index firmed 8.77 points or 0.95 percent to 931.28.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea sneaked just into the black despite tech weakess.

Australia and Singapore were dragged lower by selling in blue chips, while Wall Street's decline saw Hong Kong shares likewise take a tech-related hit.

In the U.S. Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.4 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial average shed 0.3 percent.

Sony, NEC make gains

In Tokyo, high-tech bellwether Sony Corp rose 2.17 percent to 5,660 yen, while NEC rose 2.04 percent to 902 yen.

Mizuho Holdings, Japan's biggest bank, jumped 6.5 percent to 213,000 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Japan's second biggest bank, rose 5.9 percent to 431 yen.

Top automaker Toyota Motor gained 1.23 percent to 3,300 yen, but Honda Motor slipped 0.39 percent to 5,090 yen.

The rebound in banks and techs helped Tokyo's market recover from an 18-year low set the previous day.

But analysts expect market sentiment to remain weak on disappointment over the structural reforms pledged by the government -- particularly the disposal of banks' bad loans.

Blue chips down

South Korean shares were mixed early as index heavyweight SK Telecom Co and other blue chips faltered in line with Wall Street's weak overnight performance.

But by noon, the bellwether Kospi was up 3.26 points or 0.44 percent at 744.81, while the over-the-counter Kosdaq declined 0.25 percent to 74.55.

SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile carrier, shed 2.17 percent to 247,500 won on heavy selling.

Hynix Semiconductor eased 1.6 percent to 2,450 won on reports that U.S. bidder Micron Technology wanted creditors to inject fresh funding, instead of raising its bid for Hynix's memory operations.

In Australia, stocks eased into the red. Strength in large diversified miners offset weakness in media and banking sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 8.2 points or gained 0.24 percent to 3,416.6 by early afternoon.

Australia's leading investment bank Macquarie lost another 1.5 percent to A$32.24 on expectations that losses in its European equity markets business would amount to less than A$10 million this fiscal year.

But the resources sector remained strong. Diversified miner Rio Tinto rose 2.6 percent to A$40.55, while Woodside Petroleum added 0.7 percent to A$13.30.

Media giant News Corp shed 0.6 percent to A$12.67. Hit by a sharp drop in U.S. advertising revenue, News is expected to post a 35 percent fall in earnings per share when it reports next Wednesday.

Heavy selling

Singapore shares fell in early trade as Wall Street's weakness and upcoming holidays triggered selling in some blue chips.

The benchmark Straits Times Index was down 0.78 percent or 13.56 points at 1,735.05.

Singapore Press Holdings lost 1.37 percent to S$21.60, while United Overseas Bank fell 1.38 percent to S$14.30.

In Hong Kong, stocks were little changed early with losses in key telecoms and technology stocks also tracking Wall Street's retreat.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was off 129 points or 1.2 percent at 10,464 near midday.

Leading the index lower were shares of Legend Holdings and Pacific Century CyberWorks.

Legend fell 2.92 percent to HK$43.32, while PCCW dropped 2.12 percent at HK$1.85.

The Taiwan stock market is closed for the Lunar New Year Holidays and will resume trading on February 18.

The benchmark Taiex rose 1.4 percent to 81.83 points to close at 5,926.08 points on Wednesday.