Banks send Tokyo to lower close


Tokyo stocks slipped Friday after the spring equinox holiday on Thursday

TOKYO, Japan -- Big falls in the banking sector saw Tokyo stocks close sharply lower Friday, but most other Asian markets rallied on tech strength.

Taiwan was the region's biggest gainer, up more than 1.5 percent as its chip stocks rose on a strong performance in the U.S. from the Nasdaq.

Resuming from Thursday's vernal equinox holiday, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended the day down 181.70 points or 1.58 percent at 11,345.08.

The broader capital-weighted TOPIX index fell 21.22 points or 1.93 percent to 1076.63.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kospi in Seoul was up 10.34 points or 1.17 percent to 895.98, as South Korean President Kim Dae-jung hosted a visit from Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The two leaders signed an investment pact Friday.

Australia was essentially flat, with the S&P/ASX200 down 2.3 points to 3433.8. New Zealand also closed slightly lower.

Hong Kong and Singapore were higher, with the Hang Seng index up 19.10 points to 10,848.83 and the Straits Times index up about 10 points to 1803.79 in late afternoon trade.

Taiwan sets the pace


Stocks in Seoul were higher after the South Korean and Japanese leaders signed an investment pact

Taiwan set the pace, with techs boosting its Taiex to a gain of 93.90 points or 1.55 percent to 6140.42.

That came after the Nasdaq composite index put on almost 2 percent Thursday to reach 1868.83. The Dow Jones industrial average eased 0.2 percent to 10,479.84.

In Tokyo, most of the big banks ended the day sharply lower on fresh fears about the Japanese government's commitment to reform. Top lender Mizuho Holdings fell 4.5 percent to 297,000 yen and second-largest Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp fell 6.52 percent to 516 yen.

UFJ Holdings was down 5.77 percent to 294,000 yen and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group lost 3.11 percent to 811,000 yen.

In the high-tech sector, chip and computer makers Toshiba and Fujitsu moved against the downtrend after a Fujitsu spokesman said Thursday the two companies were in talks on cooperation in semiconductors.

Fujitsu rose 1.44 percent to 1056 yen and Toshiba rose 2.9 percent to 567 yen after going as high as 585 yen. Consumer electronics leader Sony was another gainer, putting on 0.58 percent to 6930 yen.

Telco stocks down

But mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo lost 40,000 yen or 2.34 percent to 1.67 million yen. Its parent NTT fell more sharply, losing 4.63 percent to 494,000 yen

Japanese investor sentiment was marred by a newspaper report that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was not planning additional anti-deflation steps for now, traders told Reuters news agency.

According to Friday's edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily, Koizumi told reporters in South Korea there was no need for fresh anti-deflation measures for the time being.

In Australia, big banks were stronger, with CBA up 0.35 percent to A$31.87 and ANZ up 1.12 percent to A$18.04. Insurance and funds groups AMP dropped 1.5 percent to A$19.14.

Resources leaders BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both eased about 1 percent, while market heavyweight News Corp. slipped 0.4 percent to A$13.45.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics put on 9000 won or 2.64 percent to 350,500 won, while rival chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor jumped 7.8 percent to 1520 won. Mobile telephone leader SK Telecom added 1 percent to 295,000 won and rival KT Corp rose 1.56 percent to 65,000 won.

Chip foundries gain

In Taiwan, chip foundries TSMC and UMC were up 1.06 percent and 0.97 percent respectively to T$95.00 and T$52.00. Nanya Plastic added 1 percent to T$36.90.

Heading towards the close in Hong Kong, China Mobile was up 0.65 percent to HK$23.40 and banking leader HSBC put on 0.56 percent to HK$90.00.

Blue chip conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, which reported a profit of HK$12.1 billion late Thursday, rose 1.12 percent to HK$67.75. Cheung Kong Holdings, which disappointed the market with its earnings, fell 0.7 percent to $68.50.

In Singapore, telco leader SingTel was up 1.2 percent to S$1.61, while carrier Singapore Airlines and big bank DBS both rose 0.68 percent to S$14.70.