Tokyo techs take Asian markets lower


NTT DoCoMo and parent NTT were among tech stocks to close lower in Tokyo

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian markets closed mainly lower Tuesday, with tech stocks dealing Japanese markets a sharp knock.

Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia all eased into the red, but Hong Kong managed to stay just in the black.

Japan suffered the heaviest falls. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index finished the day down 238.40 points or 2.1 percent at 11,114.49. That was its lowest close since April 1.

The broader capital-weighted Topix index of all stocks on the first section fell 18.5 points or 1.7 percent to 1,071.66.

Despite the sharp decline among Tokyo techs such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, Sony and DoCoMo, it wasn't a completely dismal picture.

Banks make some ground

The market largely took in its stride a report that Japan's watchdog Financial Services Agency has uncovered greater bad-loan problems than originally forecast at the big banks.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported the bad loans could be as high as 8.4 trillion yen ($63 billion). Some investors saw the report as a sign that banks are once again getting serious about writing off or tackling bad borrowers.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's largest bank group by assets, rose 4.14 percent to 302,000 yen after the news. UFJ Holdings added 11,000 yen or 3.83 percent to 299,000 yen.

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group jumped 35,000 yen or 4.22 percent to 865,000 yen after the bank forecast its group net loss for the year just ended would be 145 billion yen, rather than the 20 billion yen profit originally predicted.

Computer maker NEC felt the brunt of IBM's profit warning in the United States Monday, falling 56 yen or 5.1 percent to 1039 yen.

Mobile phone leader NTT DoCoMo fell 3.8 percent to 353,000 yen and parent NTT dipped 4.17 percent to 505,000 yen.

Japan's major car company stocks, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi Motors were also off.

Seoul easier

In Seoul, the Kospi index fell 12.02 points or 1.33 percent to 888.67. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was unchanged at 369,000 won, but Hynix Semiconductor lost 4.87 percent to 1270 won and Kepco lost 1.44 percent.


Asian transport stocks fell as Middle East conflict drives the price of oil higher

Hyundai Motor initally rose after reports that 10 percent shareholder DaimlerChrysler may seek closer ties, but closed 0.1 percent down at 42,800 won.

South Korea's main airline, Korean Air Lines, fell 6.1 percent to 15,300 won, reflecting higher oil prices from tension in the Middle East. Korea is the world's No. 4 importer of crude oil.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended 25.6 points or 0.76 percent lower at 3,363.4.

Resources leader BHP Billiton gained 4 cents to A$11.78 after releasing its new strategic plan Monday.

NAB down again

The National Australia Bank closed down again, losing another half a percent to A$33.02 after Monday's 1.4 percent fall. That came after it unveiled its profit plan and announced 2,050 job cuts.

News Corp, the biggest stock on the Australian bourse, lost 45 cents or 3.47 percent to A$12.51.

In Taiwan, the benchmark Taiex index was down heavily, off 120.98 points or 1.95 percent at 6,069.85. The tech-driven market suffered the aftermath of IBM's U.S. profit warning.

Chip foundry TSMC was flat at T$91.50, but rival UMC lost 1.9 percent to T$52.00. Quanta Computer lost 2 percent to T$119.50.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index was off 13.3 points or 0.75 percent at 1752.36 heading towards the close.

SingTel eased 1.24 percent to S$1.59 and banking leader DBS lost 0.7 percent to S$14.20.

Hong Kong's market was a rare gainer, with the Hang Seng index putting on 10 points or just 0.09 percent to 10,733.69. It has frequently run at odds to other Asian markets so far in 2002, and was one of the worst performers in the world in 2001.

China's largest maker of PCs, Legend Holdings, was down 1.5 percent to HK$3.27

But cellular telco leader China Mobile finished 0.65 percent up at HK$23.40, and banking leader HSBC rose 0.28 percent to HK$88.25.