Asia knocked again by recovery doubts


Asian markets were unable to withstand the gloominess out of the United States but did not sell down as heavily

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stocks ended the week on a down note, unable to shake off doubts about the global economic recovery.

The Topix fell back into the red in late Tokyo trade to close down 0.29 percent at 955.81.

The tech-sensitive Nikkei 225 average started lower and ended down 0.86 percent at 9,709.66.

Tech stocks again sold off, but not as dramatically as Nasdaq's 3.6 percent slump overnight.

Taiwan bucked that selloff, producing a slight gain. But most other Asian markets lost ground, with Hong Kong faring the worst.

The Hang Seng closed down almost 2 percent. South Korea lost 1 percent, and Australia and New Zealand fell, too. Singapore is lower heading toward the close.

Sony, Sharp blunted

In Tokyo, the market closed lower for the third time in a row, with the Nikkei nearing its 18-year low close of 9,420.85 from February.


Doubts about exports hit Sharp and Sony, which had been hoping for a rebound in consumer confidence

Sony Corp. fell 3.3 percent to 5,220 yen, hit by doubts about American consumers and by a slightly stronger yen.

The currency stands at 119.02 in early trade out of London, having spent most of the day at 118.

Other electronics makers suffered as investors factored in a slower-than-expected turnaround in the economy.

Sharp slumped 5.8 percent to 1,324 yen and took a ratings downgrade. Chipmaker Fujitsu lost 3.1 percent and closed just off a new nine-year low, at 660 yen.

Hyundai falls, Kia gets back up

In Korea, exporters were lower for a second day. Hyundai Motor, the country's biggest car company, sold down 4.0 percent to 33,150 won.

Its subsidiary Kia Motors mustered a gain, though, up 1.9 percent to 10,500 won after upping its 2002 export target.

Samsung Electronics closed down 1.5 percent at 319,500 won, despite announcing a stock buyback.

Samsung was named earlier this week as having the fastest-growing brand value in the world (Full Story)

Fixed-line telco KT Corp., which reported strong first-half earnings on Thursday, clawed back to end down 1.1 percent at 43,700 won.(Full Story)

State buying in Taiwan

Taiwan's Taiex was one of Asia's few indexes to end in the black. It rose 0.09 percent to 4,920.89.


The tech selling spread out of Tokyo, with Hong Kong's cell phone plays such as China Unicom also losing ground

State funds propped up the market again, after a fall on Wall Street led to generally pessimistic investor sentiment through Asia.

TSMC, Taipei's largest listing, fell 0.2 percent to T$49.90. Smaller rival UMC closed down 1.6 percent at T$31.50.

Banks -- the second-most influential sector -- saw the heaviest buying. The financial index rose 0.43 percent.

Weak reports on manufacturing and labor heightened investor concern about the strength of any economic recovery(Full U.S. roundup).

Australia sells off

The gloomier outlook in the United States also hurt markets Down Under. Australia's main S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.76 percent to 3,053.9.

News Corp. dropped 0.9 percent to A$9.20. But it and other Australian stocks recovered as the afternoon wore on.

Mining stocks sold off hard, BHP Billiton ending down 3.8 percent at A$8.99. Rio Tinto gave up 4.3 percent to A$31.30.

Qantas Airways lost 1.46 percent to A$4.73, as around 6,000 workers went on strike, leaving air services in turmoil Friday (Full Story).

In New Zealand, the Top 40 fell 0.43 percent to 1,981.04. Telecom New Zealand dropped 0.84 percent to NZ$4.72.

But recent listing Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose ahead of earnings next week.

Hong Kong banks suffer

Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished down 1.85 percent at 9,991.72, hurt by bank and tech selling.

HSBC Holdings, the largest listing, lost 2.57 percent to HK$85.50 after rival British bank Barclays posted a 6 percent fall in profit.

The Bank of East Asia fell 2.36 percent to HK$14.50 after Hong Kong's fifth-largest bank revealed its own numbers on Thursday.

On the tech front, mainland cell-phone service China Unicom plunged 4.55 percent to HK$5.30. Larger rival China Mobile dropped 1.38 percent to HK$21.40.

China's largest computer maker, Legend Group, also ended down, off 2.61 percent at HK$2.80.

Singapore's Straits Times index is down 0.61 percent at 1,507.81 heading toward the close.

Singapore Airlines and DBS Group are both down, but the market is facing resistance at the 1,500 barrier.