Asian markets tread water as Tokyo falls


Tech stocks in Town are down following the fall on Wall Street

By Alex Frew McMillan and wire reports

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are treading water by midday Friday, with Japan posting losses of more than half a percent as it hits the noon break.

The Nikkei 225 index ended the morning down 0.65 percent to 11,557.89 as tech stocks slumped, after a fall from Wall Street overnight.

The broader Topix is down a similar amount, off 0.65 percent to 1,083.87.

Cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo, which trades back and forth with Toyota but is now the top stock in Tokyo by market capitalization, fell 3.69 percent to 313,000 yen.

Australia is also down in afternoon trade. But other markets in Asia are at or near par.

Hong Kong is down 0.3 percent near midday, with Singapore trading higher. New Zealand is also up.

The chip-driven markets in South Korea and Taiwan are both suffering, after Nasdaq fell 2.7 percent on Thursday.

Tokyo reacts to stable wholesale prices

The Dow Jones industrial average was off 1.03 percent on Thursday (full U.S. markets).

In Tokyo, Japan Telecom was down 4.4 percent at 373,000 yen. The market is responding to two overall days of gains with a slump on Friday, as traders lock in profits ahead of the weekend.

Fresh data show the rising cost of oil hurt Japan's wholesale prices, driving them up for April. But overall prices held firm for the second month in a row. Japan is battling both deflation and recession, and prices have been persistently sliding.

Nissan Motor Co. is up 1.83 percent at midday, leading the action by market capitalization. It reported record earnings on Thursday (full story).

Down Under, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 index is off 0.47 percent at 3,322.9 in afternoon trade.

In Seoul, the Kospi index dropped 1.64 percent to 824.89 at noon. Market leader Samsung Electronics, a firm favorite of overseas funds, is off around five percent.

Other big-cap stocks like Korea Electric Power Corp. are also off. But SK Telecom is bucking the trend, up 2.2 percent to 256,500 won.

News down ahead of earnings

In Australia, News Corp., the market leader, is down 2.1 percent to A$11.90 as investors look to its earnings next week.

National Australia Bank, the largest in the country, is treading water at A$34.80. It reported record interim profits on Thursday.

Investors are also dwelling on an interest-rate rise from the central bank earlier this week, which hurt bank stocks.

Across the Tasman, the benchmark New Zealand index, the Top 40, is up 0.82 percent at 2,058.73.

Trading is thin, though, with Telecom New Zealand up 1.0 percent to NZ$4.93. It reported earnings of NZ$168 million for the quarter through March.

That was a little better than expected.

Slightly lower in Hong Kong

IN Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is 0.11 percent lower at 11,687.72. Bank and market leader HSBC is stable at HK$95.25.

But China Mobile, the second biggest stock by market cap, is down 0.57 percent at HK$25.95. It has run up 11.5 percent over the past month.

China's B share markets are lower, following through on yesterday's losses.

Taiwan's Taiex is 0.34 percent down at 5,719.90. Leading chip foundry TSMC is up about 0.6 percent to T$85.50. Tech stocks Hon Hai Precision and Asustek Computer are also higher.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index is higher, up 0.29 percent at 1,738.71. Trading is quiet ahead of the weekend.

SingTel, which reported a 19 percent profit drop Thursday, is up 2 cents or 1.34 percent to S$1.51.