Asia stocks falls on yen and tech


Koizumi says the yen shouldn't move rapidly but told the market its strength shows an economic bounce

HONG KONG, China -- Asian markets finished lower on Tuesday, with the strong yen dealing exporters a knock in Japan.

Tech stocks were also weaker in Tokyo, with the Nikkei index ending down 0.47 percent at 11,801.16. But the broader market was almost flat, with the Topix index slipping just 0.07 percent at 1,116.36.

South Korea was the day's biggest loser, down more than 3 percent, with Taiwan losing more than 2 percent, leaving Taipei at its lowest level since December.

New Zealand eked out a gain and Singapore was up near the close, but Australia and Hong Kong followed the regional weakness.

In Tokyo, the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a series of comments aimed at arresting the yen's recent run against the dollar.

In early European trade, the yen stood at 125.60 against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese leader stepped into the debate, saying the run showed Japan's economy is improving (full story).

Sony, car stocks off


Exporters are particularly vulnerable as the currency runs up against the buck

But the strong yen is hurting exporters. Computer maker NEC fell 3.7 percent to 981 yen. Electronics maker Sony dropped 0.83 percent to 7,190 yen.

Many Japanese car companies have budgeted on the yen staying around 125 this year. On Tuesday, Toyota fell 1.4 percent to 3,500 yen. Honda Motor dropped 1.22 percent to 5,680 yen.

Bank stocks were also down, as they look to earnings on Friday. The central Bank of Japan ended a two-day meeting by leaving monetary policy unchanged, as expected.

Cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo propped up the market, ending up 1.81 percent to 338,000.

Samsung leads Seoul lower

In South Korea, the Kospi index skidded 3.3 percent to 837.56. Movements of up to 4 percent are not uncommon in Korea and Taiwan's volatile markets.

In Seoul, Samsung Electronics fell 3.8 percent to 356,000 won, amid overseas selling on reports of lower chip prices.

Cell-phone company SK Telecom dropped 1.6 percent to 271,000 won, and rival KT fell almost 4 percent to 55,800 won.

SK Telecom is buying a bigger stake in KT, but investors on Tuesday worried KT shareholders might choose this time to sell.

Taiwan off sharply

Taiwan stocks were also down sharply, with the Taiex off 2.36 percent to 5,443.18, on tech selling.

Electronics stocks were down 2.22 percent, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. off 0.57 percent to T$86.50.

TSMC's drop was softened by better sales projections out of Chartered Semiconductor, a Singapore-based chip foundry (full story).

Chartered was enjoying good gains toward the close in Singapore, after rising as much as 2.8 percent.

The Straits Times index bucked a broader regional trend, and was up 0.19 percent to 1,727.78, and getting further support from National Steel, up 0.2 percent to S$1.62.

On Monday, terror jitters sent Wall Street downwards, with the Dow off 1.19 percent at 10,229.50. Nasdaq fell 2.29 percent to 1,701.59 (U.S. roundup).

Property off in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index ended Tuesday down 1.85 percent at 11,753.29. Property stocks took a hit, after Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on the sector.

Hang Lung Group was the big loser, down 4.49 percent to HK$7.45. Henderson Land fell 3.54 percent to HK$34.40. Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 1.47 percent to HK$67.25.

Australian stocks fell 0.48 percent, leaving the S&P/ASX 200 index at 3,376.9. The weakness was across the market.

News Corp. dropped 1.7 percent to A$13.44 after gains last week. Slot-machine company Aristocrat Leisure fell 0.9 percent to A$5.60, despite saying 2002 has been encouraging so far.

Across the Tasman, Wellington's New Zealand Top 40 gained 0.24 percent. Fletcher Challenge Forests was again dominating traffic, gaining 8.3 percent to NZ$0.26.

In India, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30 share-index was down 3.66 percent in afternoon trade, amid mounting tensions with Pakistan. The Karachi Stock Exchange was down 1.89 percent.