Asian markets end lower on heavy selling

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets ended the day lower on Monday, dragged down by investors who cashed in on gains after Wall Street's modest rise last week.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day off 0.58 percent at 10,296.47.

The broader, capital-weighted Topix index gave up 0.21 percent to 987.12.

In other markets, shares in Seoul ended slightly lower on selling triggered after the main index, the Kospi, topped 800 for the first time in 19 months.

But Australia closed essentially flat, up 0.1 percent on strength in key blue chips.

Both Taiwan and Hong Kong finished lower on caution over their respective economies, while Singapore was off more than 1 percent in late afternoon on heavy selling.

Japanese shares edged higher in early trade as investors eagerly await a government package, expected on Wednesday.

The Koizumi administration is expected to facilitate the disposal of banks' massive bad loans. The Bank of Japan is also meeting this week and may act to fight deflation.

But Tokyo trade finished the day softer after investors cashed in profits on recent gainers such as Sony Corp. The electronics titan fell 1.12 percent to 6,200 yen.

Banks higher

Banks ended firmer on lingering speculation the anti-deflation package could include plans to infuse public funds into troubled banks.

Among the big banks, Mizuho Holdings rose 3.04 percent at 237,000 yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui gained 2.32 percent at 486 yen. UFJ Holdings was up 1.41 percent at 288,000 yen.

The market also welcomed weekend reports of banks' financial support to ailing builders in exchange for restructuring.

Debt-laden Daikyo builder soared 11.69 percent to 86 yen after the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported over the weekend that UFJ Bank, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Asahi Bank would consider more than 300 billion yen in aid to revive the builder.

Heavy Selling

South Korean shares ended slightly lower, led by Hynix Semiconductor on selling triggered after the main index hit 800 for the first time in 19 months.

The bellwether Kospi closed down 0.07 percent at 791.48, while the over-the-counter, tech-driven Kosdaq finished up 0.06 percent at 77.11.

During the day, the Kospi touched a high of 801.97 on sentiment spurred by a Moody's investment Service delegation that is eyeing a sovereign upgrade of the country's creditworthiness.

Hynix, the world's third largest memory-chip maker, fell 9.4 percent to 1,450 won as investors showed caution about alliance talks with Micron Technology.

Samsung, the world's biggest memory chipmaker, shed 0.45 percent to 332,000 won in heavy overseas selling.

Pohang Iron and Steel Co Ltd, the world's largest steel maker, slipped 1.88 percent to 157,000 won.

Power monopoly Korea Electric gained 0.2 percent to 21,950 won, despite a strike by union workers that also included Korea gas and rail companies.

They are demanding a shorter work week and an end to Seoul's privatization drive.

Blue chips up

The Australian stock market finished basically flat, supported by strength in key blue chip issues after cautious optimism on Wall Street spurred a rebound in market leader News Corp.

News shares ended up 3.6 percent to A$12.28, helping to lift the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index 0.4 of a point or 0.01 percent to 3,422.5 points.

Major resources companies Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton also provided key support, gaining 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent to A$39.70 and A$11.56 respectively.

In Taiwan, stocks fell nearly two percent to close at five-week lows as investors wondered whether the island's economic rebound would be weaker than expected.

Heavy selling pushed the benchmark Taiex index to close 1.77 percent lower at 5,510.71 points.

Taiwan said on Friday its GDP shrank 1.87 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, dragging the nation's export-fueled economy into its worst recession on record.

Wall Street volatile

Singapore shares reversed their morning gains in subdued trade with the benchmark stock index sliding below the key 1,700 level as investors rushed to lock in profits.

The bellwether Straits Times Index was down 1.17 percent at 1,670.44 in the last hour of trade, as sentiment remained cautious due to the volatility on Wall Street.

Blue-chip banking stock DBS Group was among the top losers, slumping 2.19 percent in the morning to S$13.40, on the back of selling by mutual funds.

Electronics contract manufacturer Natsteel Broadway was also down, falling 10.73 percent or 28 cents to S$2.33.

Shares in Hong Kong were down by midday as worries over the sputtering local economy erased initial gains following a modest rise on Wall Street.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 1.58 percent lower at 10,496.02.

Shares of global banking giant HSBC Holdings slipped 0.58 percent to HK$85.50 following the release of worse than expected Hong Kong economic data last week.

Results by HSBC's global rival Standard Chartered, which showed a sharp increase in bad debt levels, also dragged HSBC lower ahead of HSBC's full-year results, due next week.

Analysts on average are expecting the bank to post an 18 percent drop in 2001 earnings.

The Hong Kong government said Friday that consumer prices fell sharply for the second month in a row in February as special factors exacerbated already harsh deflationary pressures.

The 3.5 percent drop in the composite CPI in January year-on-year, the 39th consecutive monthly decline, added to news last week that HK's jobless rate hit 6.7 percent, its highest level in two decades.

The downbeat figures hit property stocks, another driver of the Hong Kong market, on Monday.

Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 3.64 percent to HK$59.25.