Asia's early gainers lose ground


Japan's losses are broad-based, with the Topix down almost as much as the tech-fuelled Nikkei

staff and wire reports

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are broadly down heading into afternoon trade.

Australia and other markets that showed early gains have lost their momentum, with the region's largest market, Japan, leading the way south.

Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are all down, while South Korea is flat.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei broke for lunch down 1.44 percent at 11,285.09. That is its lowest level since May 7.

Japanese techs are selling off after an earnings warning from Nokia in Europe and a slump on Nasdaq on Tuesday in the United States.

Topix down a similar amount


These Cameroon fans saw their team go down against Germany in Japan on Tuesday, with Ireland also qualifying

But Tokyo's losses are broader based, with the Topix index of all stocks in the first section dropping 1.13 percent at lunch, to 1088.91.

Chip and computer maker NEC Corp. is down 1.1 percent to 897 yen. Display maker Sharp Corp. is lower to the tune of 2.5 percent to 1519 yen.

New Zealand's market is also lower in afternoon, the Top 40 showing a loss of 0.91 percent to 2114.26.

It drifted from the start of trade, Telecom New Zealand falling 1.5 percent to NZ$5.21 after a four-month high the day before.

Australia has done an about face in early afternoon, leaving the S&P/ASX 200 index down 0.26 percent at 3,319.9.

Korea dealing with triple witching day

It had been higher in morning trade, though only slightly, with gains from its two largest listings, News Corp. and Telstra.

South Korea's main index, the Kospi, is drifting in and out of the red. It was up just 0.22 points to 815.55 soon after noon local time.

The Korean market is contesting a so-called "triple witching day," when options and warrants expire. Volume is often heavy at such times.

Steelmaker POSCO, a fund favorite, is down 1.95 percent at 151,000 won in morning trade. Chipmaker Samsung Electronics and cell-phone carrier SK Telecom are also lower.

Pressure from Nokia and Nasdaq

In U.S. markets, The Nasdaq 100 index, often used as a benchmark for tech stocks, fell 2.2 percent to 1497.18 on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which tracks more traditional industries, lost 1.33 percent to end at 9517.26 (full U.S. roundup).

Stocks were reacting to a sales warning from European mobile-phone maker Nokia (full story).

Taiwan's Taiex is also lower, the Taiex down 0.26 percent at 5391.42 in mid-morning trade.

There are some tech gainers in the form of Nanya Technologies, the country's largest maker of DRAM memory chips. It is 1.85 percent higher at T$33.10.

But Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a chip foundry and the largest Taiwan listing, is down 1.35 percent to T$73.00. Notebook maker Quanta Computer is down almost 6 percent to T$88.

Hong Kong off on Johnson Electric

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down 0.69 percent to 11,137.14. It has often proved a contrarian index so far in 2002 but not on Wednesday.

Small-motor maker Johnson Electric, which gets most of its sales from the United States, is down again after reporting earnings Tuesday.

Johnson is off 2.16 percent at HK$9.05 in mid-morning trade. That exacerbates yesterday's fall, after it said full-year profits dropped 24 percent.

Singapore's market is also lower, the Straits Times off 0.41 percent at 1649.73. Chartered Semiconductor and other techs are leading the selling.