Asia eases despite Wall Street's boost


Taiwan's market ended lower Thursday after a choppy day of trading

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian stocks gave up early gains to close in the red Thursday, despite another strong showing on Wall Street.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 average eased back from its 0.32 percent rise at midday to finish the day down 34.83 points or 0.35 percent at 9799.57. Trading was thin.

The broader capital-weighted Topix lost 2.3 points or 0.24 percent to 959.98.

Asian markets initially got a lift from the U.S., but the gains were minor compared to the 2.2 percent rally by the Dow Jones industrial average on Wednesday.

Many stocks in the region had already risen sharply in the previous session.

Thursday saw markets in South Korea, Australia and New Zealand close higher, but the rises were modest.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index moved in and out of the red all day, before closing down about a third of a percent.

Taiwan's Taiex likewise went as high as 4764 before closing down 0.43 percent at 4700.23.

Singapore lower


NEC was among several tech stocks in Japan to close in the red

Singapore's Straits Times index is down about quarter of a percent heading towards the close.

In Tokyo, big banks dipped sharply, Mizuho giving up 3.7 percent to 260,000 yen and UFJ slipping 2.9 percent to 270,000 yen. MTFG was off 2 percent.

Many tech stocks, including Fujitsu, Toshiba and NEC, closed lower.

Consumer electronics leader Sony was flat at 5280 yen, while rival Hitachi ended 1.23 percent higher at 657 yen.

Exporters including big automakers Toyota and Nissan were stronger, up 1.87 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. Honda, the other member of the big three, was down 0.4 percent.

Toyota's rise came a day after it announced a 35 percent year-on-year jump in group operating profit for the April-June quarter, well above analysts' forecasts. (Full Story)

Telco giant NTT was again higher, putting on 4000 yen or 0.8 percent to 498,000 yen. But its mobile phone subsidiary DoCoMo slipped 1.43 percent.

"Investors are coming back to the market very cautiously," Tokio Furuta of Tokai Tokyo Securities told Reuters news agency.

"They're taking time to sound out sentiment after seeing massive sell orders from foreigners pulling down the Nikkei near the post-bubble lows."

Nikkei near lows

Earlier this week, the Nikkei went close to its year-to-date closing low of 9,420.85 marked in February, which was the lowest close since November 1983.

But a rally on Wall Street helped send the Nikkei up 3.51 percent on Wednesday for its fourth-biggest gain this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average put on 182.06 points or 2.2 percent to 8456.15, rebounding from a 60-point drop at one stage. The Nasdaq rose 21.35 points or 1.7 percent to 1280.90 after being down earlier in the day. (Full U.S. roundup)

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 added 26.1 points or 0.86 percent to 3077.1 on Thursday.

Big retailer Coles Myer slumped 4.5 percent to a five-year low of A$5.86 after reporting full year sales were up 8.8 percent to A$25.5 billion. It said full year profit, to be announced in early October, would likely be at the lower end of the A$350-365 million range. (Full Story)

Telstra, BHP higher

Telco leader Telstra was up slightly, as was BHP Billiton, which reported full-year profits Wednesday. (Full Story)

BHP is part of a consortium that won a A$25 billion contract to supply LNG to China. The deal was announced mid-afternoon by Australian Prime Minister John Howard. (Full Story)

North West Shelf operator Woodside jumped 5 percent to A$13.60 after news of the deal broke.

Market heavyweight News Corp finished down just 0.22 percent at A$9.25.

In Seoul, the Kospi put on 0.75 percent to 684.49.

SK Telecom added 2.15 percent to 214,000 won. Samsung Electronics and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor were also higher. But steelmaker Posco gave up early gains to finish just in the red at 106,000 won.

Hong Kong bluechips were mixed. Banking giant HSBC was down marginally, as were Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings..

But heavyweight mobile telco China Mobile was up about half a percent to HK$21.50.

In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 7 points or 0.5 percent to 1487.76.

Singapore's No. 2 bank UOB is up 3.1 percent to S$13.30. It reported a 30 percent lift in first half profits Wednesday. (Full Story)

Reuters contributed to this report.