Tokyo, other Asian markets close lower


Taiwan's Taiex was down almost 3 percent at the close Wednesday

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan and most Asian markets closed lower Wednesday after steep losses on Wall Street weighed on technology issues. Taiwan lost almost 3 percent.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended 13.03 points or 0.13 percent lower at 9834.13, while the broader capital-weighted TOPIX index fell 3.05 points or 0.32 percent to 956.91.

While Japan was down only slightly on relative early strength among its big banks, markets in Taiwan, Australia, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore were all off more sharply. New Zealand finished just in the black.

Taiwan's Taiex suffered the steepest fall, losing 169.48 points or 2.89 percent to 5692.18. Contract chipmakers TSMC and UMC fell heavily, down more than 4 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 32.7 points or almost 1 percent to 3437.7, while in Seoul -- where U.S. President George W. Bush arrived Tuesday -- the Kospi was down 5.38 points or 0.69 percent to 776.89.

HK, Singapore down

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped below the 10,700 mark at one point before recovering a little to be down 91.14 or 0.84 percent at 10,749.35 at the close.

Singapore's Straits Times index was down 18.4 points or 1 percent to 1724 in late afternoon trade.


UFJ and other big Japanese banks were either flat or slightly weaker

In Tokyo, modest gains by leading banks in the morning evaporated as the day wore on. Tech-related issues such as Sony and NTT DoCoMo also fell.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, rose as much as 3 percent to 222,000 yen, recouping part of Tuesday's 7.4 percent fall. But it fell to be unchanged at 214,000 yen at the close.

UFJ Holdings also faded to be down 3000 yen or 1.09 percent to 273,000 yen by the close. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group was steady at 769,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Japan's second-largest bank, edged 1 yen lower to 451 yen.

Consumer electronics leader Sony fell 150 yen or 2.44 percent to 6000 yen and mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo eased 1.44 percent to 1.37 million yen. Japan Telecom was down 1.67 percent to 354,000 yen.

Kirin makes ground

Kirin Beer was a rare gainer, up 35 yen or 4 percent to 891 yen after the brewer said it would buy back up to 30 billion yen of shares in order to boost its stock price.

The volatility in bank shares came after the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami had urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday to consider injecting public funds into ailing banks.

"When someone as important as the Bank of Japan governor says something like that, it's enough to put investors on their toes, making them believe the fund injection could be decided at any time," Hidenori Kawasaki, general manager of equities trading at Kokusai Securities, told Reuters news agency.

Japan's high-tech sector was under pressure after a 3 percent tumble on the U.S. Nasdaq market.

Matsushita Communication Industrial (MCI), Japan's second-largest cellphone maker, fell 2.33 percent to 4200 yen after the company lowered its group net forecast for the full year through March to a loss of 44 billion yen ($329 million) from a loss of 30 billion yen.

Its parent, Matsushita Electric Industrial, lost 2.45 percent to 1512 yen.

Aust. banks weaker

In Seoul, SK Telecom lost 0.8 percent to 248,000 won and market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was off 0.73 percent to 340,000 won.

Rival chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor initially moved against the trend, putting on half a percent before falling into the red to close 35 won or 1.94 percent down at 1765 won.

In Australia, big banks and most resources stocks were weaker, save for Woodside Petroluem and BHP Billiton. Woodside put on more than 2 percent to A$13.73 after reporting a profit of just under A$1 billion, while BHP was up 0.43 percent to A$11.70.

Media group News Corp, which accounts for about 9 percent of the index, was down 1 percent to A$12.85.

In Hong Kong, bluechips were mainly weaker. Leading bank HSBC was down 1.1 percent to HK$87.00, while China Mobile dropped 3.1 percent to HK$22.80.

Utility companies made gains, as did Cheung Kong Holdings.

In Singapore, banking leader DBS was down 1.4 percent to S$14.10 and Singapore Airlines was off 2.9 percent to S$13.30 in late trade. The market's best known tech stock, Creative Technology, was up 5.5 percent to S$23.00.