Tokyo leads Asian markets lower


On Thursday the Nikkei jumped 4.7% to 10,295, but it eased by midday Friday

TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese stocks moved lower by midday Friday after a sharp slide on Wall Street. Markets in Australia, Korea and Hong Kong also were lower.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended the morning down 89.48 points or 0.87 percent at 10,205.94, as investors took advantage of its 4.7 percent gain the previous day.

The broader capital-weighted TOPIX index fell 8.54 points or 0.86 percent to 980.35.

Big banks were down, with Mizuho Holdings off 1.35 percent to 220,000 yen. Mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo fell 3.5 percent to 1.37 million yen.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 12 points or about a third of a percent to 3422, while Korea's Kospi was off 8.43 points or about 1 percent to 779.2.

News Corp. down


Taiwan's Taiex eased about 1.4 percent

Australian resources leaders BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto eased, as did market heavyweight News Corp, which dropped 4.4 percent to A$12.01.

In Seoul, Hynix Semiconductor, SK Telecom and KT made gains, but Samsung Electronics lost 2.8 percent to 329,000 won.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was down about 155 points or 1.44 percent heading for midday. Bluechips were down across the board.

Taiwan's Taiex eased 80 points or 1.4 percent to 5575, while in Singapore, the Straits Times index was down more than 2 percent or 35 points to 1696 in late morning trade.

On Thursday the Nikkei had posted its biggest percentage rise since March 2001.

But on Friday, after the U.S. Nasdaq lost 3.3 percent and chipmaker Intel fell 6 percent, there was a sharp selloff in Tokyo, led by tech-related issues such as computer and chipmaker NEC.

Chipmakers weaken

NEC fell 2.35 percent to 874 yen, Hitachi lost 3.5 percent to 791 yen and Fujitsu was down about 2 percent to 804 yen.

Tokyo Electron, a maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, lost 1.74 percent to 8450 yen.

Reuters news agency reported investors were reluctant to push prices down aggressively ahead of a planned announcement of the government's anti-deflation package and Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Policy Board meeting next week, traders said.

"Spectacular policy steps are unlikely. But people are waiting and hoping for any signs that the BOJ and the government see eye to eye and work together to fight deflation," Takashi Yamazaki, chief investment officer at Tokio Marine Asset Management, told Reuters.

Snow Brand Milk Products fell 10.42 percent to 129 yen after its scandal tainted meat-packing subsidiary, Snow Brand Food, said it would liquidate its operations in April.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading in Snow Brand Food and said the shares will be delisted on May 23.