Asia surrenders tech runup by close


Japan's biggest phone company posted the largest loss on record, bar banking, but NTT forecasts profits ahead

staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks largely gave up their tech inspired gains on Tuesday, with the Nikkei ending slightly higher in Japan.

The broader market, as measured by the Topix, posted a small loss. The big gainer was South Korea, up almost 2 percent.

Australia and New Zealand climbed, by 0.36 and 0.64 percent respectively. Taiwan held onto narrow gains and Singapore is up near the close.

But Hong Kong gave up its black position and ended 30 points or about a quarter of a percent in the red.

NTT posts record nonbank loss

In Tokyo, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) stock shrank 1.45 percent to 477,000 yen Tuesday, on a day the tech-driven Nikkei rose 0.17 percent.

NTT's performance helped drag the broader market, as measured by the Topix index, lower, down 0.27 percent.


Asian stocks surged in early going but retreated by the close, leaving most with modest gains

After the end of trade, NTT said it lost 812.2 billion yen ($6.4 billion) for the year, the largest nonbank loss to date in Japan (full story).

NTT still owns around 65 percent of DoCoMo, now the largest listing on the Tokyo stock exchange by market capitalization. DoCoMo shares closed down 2.3 percent at 302,000 yen.

Toyota Motor put on 1.13 percent to 3,580 yen after revealing its profit Monday night (full story).

Mitsubishi Motors also followed through with a gain, up 1.3 percent to 403 yen, after returning to profits.

Part of the gains stemmed from a weaker yen. The Japanese currency stood at 128.33 to the U.S. dollar late Tuesday.

Seoul takes to Samsung again

In Seoul, the Kospi index rose 1.88 percent to 837.37. SK Telecom, a favorite of overseas funds, rose 1.5 percent to 268,000 won.

Market leader Samsung Electronics jumped 6.7 percent to 358,500. Samsung said it has lodged an inquiry with Korean regulators over a downgrade from UBS Warburg last week, which led to selling in its stock (full story).

In Taiwan, the Taiex finished up 0.23 percent at 5,755.92 on light trade, following Nasdaq's sharp gains in the U.S. It rose 3.2 percent Monday, to 1,652.54, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 1.7 percent to 10,109.66.

That inspired Winbond Electronics investors, who bid the chipmaker's stock up the daily 7 percent limit to T$20.90.

China Airlines fell 1.3 percent to T$14.80 and competitor EVA Airways lost 2.1 percent to T$11.50 as officials said talks to expand flights to Hong Kong are off.

News set for earnings news

Australian stocks ended the day higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.36 percent at 3,314.3.

Trading was light ahead of earnings from market leader, News Corp. It releases ahead of the U.S. market open, where the media company gets most of its earnings.

The market is looking for a loss of as much as $5 billion, to write down an investment in Gemstar-TV International. That would be the biggest loss in Australian corporate history.

Telstra, the second-largest stock, rose 1.3 percent to A$4.76. It has sold off in recent days.

Upscale retailer David Jones fell 2.5 percent to A$1.15 after announcing profits will be down more than half over last year.

In New Zealand, the Top 40 gained 0.64 percent to 2,063.65. Telecom New Zealand drove the gains, up 2.2 percent to NZ$5.01.

Hang Seng hangs on property

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed lower after showing gains most of the day.

The index fell 0.26 percent to 11,703.31. Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 1.5 percent to HK$65.75 on Tuesday, while HSBC rose 0.26 to HK$96.50 after it got an upgrade from investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Singapore's Straits Times is up 0.35 percent at 1,738.84 in late afternoon. Tech stocks were seeing some buying. Singapore Airlines is up ahead of earnings on Friday.

Indian stocks are lower, with the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index down 0.25 percent in early afternoon trade.