Asian stocks dip on weak U.S. data


Taiwan's chip foundries are down sharply in Wednesday trade.

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian markets are sharply lower heading into Wednesday afternoon, driven down by U.S. economic data and corporate results that spooked Wall Street.

Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singpore are all down more than 2 percent, while Australia is off about 1.2 percent.

Taiwan's Taiex is the biggest decliner, down 3.06 percent to 4492, while Seoul's Kospi is off 2.96 percent to 705.26.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average is down 2.47 percent by midday, off 236.13 points to 9307.81. That follows Tuesday's sharp jump, when it lifted 3.27 percent to break above the 9500-point level for the first time since September 2.

The broader, capital-weighted Topix index is down 2.11 percent to 912.73.

Sony, DoCoMo down


Japan's Mizuho Holdings is one of the heaviest losers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday

In Japan, big-cap stocks such as Sony Corp and NTT DoCoMo are among the heaviest losers, down 3.5 percent and 3.98 percent to 5250 yen and 217,000 yen respectively.

Consumer electronics leader Sony relies on the U.S. for much of its sales and has been looking for a brighter end-of-year retail season.

Leading computer and chipmaker Toshiba is off more than 4 percent to 382 yen. Rival Fujitsu is faring better, losing a relatively mild 1.24 percent to 558 yen.

The big banks are again taking a battering with Mizuho Holdings down almost 5 percent, and UFJ, MTFG and SMBC all losing more than 2 percent.

Gainers are few and far between. Nissan Motor is up 0.22 percent to 932 yen on expectations its deal with China's DongFeng will open up a new market.

JAL, ANA higher

The country's two big airlines, JAL and ANA are both slightly higher as Asian airlines generally make gains on greater optimism about travel prospects, following Iraq's decision to accept weapons inspections again.

But many Tokyo stocks reacted instead to Wall Street's Tuesday dip, when the Dow Jones industrial average shed two percent to its lowest close in six weeks. (Full U.S. roundup)

That was prompted by a stream of profit warnings from companies including fast-food giant McDonald's Corp and a surprise drop in industrial output. (Full story)

"The poor industrial output number raises the specter of a double-dip recession in the United States," Atsushi Tajima, manager of equities trading at Mitsubishi Securities, told Reuters news agency.

Reflecting the poor sentiment, NEC Fielding Ltd was trading at 4400 yen, down 2.23 percent from its initial offering price of 4500 yen in its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section. It was the second-biggest listing so far this year.

On the policy front, the Bank of Japan ends a two-day meeting Wednesday amid calls for it to further ease its ultra-loose monetary policy. Investors are not anticipating any significant move that would lift stocks.

Korean stocks slip


Daewoo Motor Sales Corp is up in Seoul, following a hefty debt writeoff plan by Daewoo Motor creditors

In South Korea, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics is down 2.63 percent to 333,000 won.

Investor favorite SK Telecom is down 3.7 percent, big automaker Hyundai Motor is off 3.5 percent and memory chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor is down more than 4 percent.

But Daewoo Motor Sales Corp, which is a proxy for Daewoo Motor, is up 1 percent after Daewoo creditors agreed to a planned 77 percent writeoff of debts owed by the bankrupt carmaker. (Full story)

In Singapore, one of the biggest losers is Singapore Airlines, down 4.7 percent to S$10.10, despite regional optimism in the aviation sector. SingTel is off 3.4 percent to S$1.42.

Taiwan's Taiex is 3.06 percent lower to 4492. The market's biggest stock, chip foundry TSMC, is down almost 4.7 percent to T$46.70 as techs take a battering after Wall Street's fall.

Rival UMC is 4.4 percent easier to T$25.90. Industrials such as Formosa Plastic and Nan Ya Plastic are also lower, both down more than 2 percent.

Australia weaker

Australia's S&P/ASX200 is off 1.25 percent to 3117.1, with the market's biggest issue, media group News Corp, down more than 3 percent to A$9.72.News gets most of its earnings in the U.S.

Another bluechip leader, telco Telstra, is down 0.6 percent to A$4.84. Big resources groups BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are also lower, as are the big four banks.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down about 2.7 percent to 9440.72 in morning trade. Telco PCCW has fallen again, losing 4 percent to HK$1.15.

Banking leader HSBC is off 2 percent to HK$85.50 and China Mobile has slipped 2.5 percent to HK$19.20.