|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nikkei ends at fresh 19-year low
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 average ended at a fresh 19-year low on Wednesday, turning around sharply in afternoon trade. The Nikkei dropped 1.23 percent to 9,049.33 as bank stocks sold off heavily for a second day. The broader Topix index lost 1.12 percent to finish at 893.23. Both indexes fell hard in afternoon trade, having ended the morning session up 0.8 percent for the Nikkei and 0.7 percent for the Topix. South Korea also lost ground. But the other main Asian markets were higher, with Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand all rising. Singapore is essentially flat coming into the close. Banks sell offWall Street's blistering run on Tuesday prompted early gains in Japan. The Dow Jones industrial average stormed ahead 4.6 percent, with Nasdaq up 3.6 percent. (Full roundup)
But the optimism proved short-lived thanks to a financial-stock drop. UFJ Holdings crunched 5.3 percent lower to end at 269,000 yen, with Mizuho Holdings down 4.5 percent to 254,000 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group was down 2.83 percent to 859,000 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui lost 1.7 percent to 635 yen. The selloff was spurred by a Jiji news report that Takeshi Kimura, a noted reformer known for his hard line on banks, would take a post on a government task force to deal with the banks. Cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo dropped 0.49 percent to 205,000 yen, buffeted by a report it would post losses on its holdings in overseas phone companies. (Full story) DoCoMo said after the close that it will write off 573 billion yen ($4.7 billion) in its stakes in overseas phone companies. That includes a 339 billion yen writedown in AT&T Wireless. Airline off to tough startJapan Airline System fell 2.9 percent to 301 yen on its second day of trading. The company, a combination of Japan's No. 1 and No. 3 carriers, made its formal launch as the world's sixth-largest airline by traffic. (Full story) Standard & Poor's assigned a "Double B" corporate-credit rating to the new parent company. Nintendo fell 7.0 percent to 12,840 yen after slashing its profit forecast for the first half of the fiscal year after the close on Tuesday. It was hurt by the gains in the yen during that period as well as lackluster demand in Japan and Germany. NEC fell 1.6 percent to 559 yen after Hutchison Whampoa confirmed NEC would pay $73 million for a 5 percent stake in its cell-phone operations. (Full story) There were technology gainers in Japan, with Mitsubishi Electric up 1.8 percent and Matsushita Electric Industrial rising 0.7 percent. The yen is trading weaker at 123.07 to the U.S. dollar in early European trade out of Scotland. That gave exporters a little support. But Sony still fell 0.2 percent for the day, with Toyota Motor down 2.0 percent and Honda Motor off 1.0 percent. Korea closes lowerIn South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.62 percent to 648.10, investors locking in gains after a bounce on Tuesday. Big-cap telecoms were down, fixed line carrier KT Corp. falling 3.2 percent to 52,000 won. Cell-phone company SK Telecom dropped 1.25 percent to 237,000 won. Hynix Semiconductor closed almost limit-down, off 14 percent to 370 won. The chipmaker was hurt by a report that its creditors are mulling slashing its capital more than 95 percent. (Full story) Hyundai Motor was a notable gainer, up 4.2 percent to 28,850 won as it benefited from positive sentiment from local brokerages. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.22 percent to 4,171.76, generating traction from Nasdaq's run. Computer maker Compal Electronics gained 3.3 percent to T$31.20 after Dell Computer, its customer, raised its third-quarter forecasts. China Airlines rose 0.9 percent to T$11.0, continuing to benefit from sentiment it will gain cargo business thanks to the port lockout on the West Coast of the United States. Chip foundry TSMC finished lower, though, off 0.25 percent at T$40.0 after shedding heady early gains. Australia, NZ modestly upAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.37 percent to 2,998.2. But sentiment was still cautious. News Corp. put on 2.5 percent to A$9.07 after sealing a deal overnight to buy Italian pay-television company Telepiu. (Full story) Retailer Coles Myer added 1.7 percent to A$6.12 ahead of its earnings on Thursday. Resources companies were benefiting from rising oil prices, BHP Billiton up 1.1 percent to A$9.39 and Rio Tinto ahead 1.0 percent to A$30.30. The Reserve Bank of Australia opted to leave interest rates steady, as did New Zealand's central bank. (Full story) In Wellington, the New Zealand Top 40 climbed 0.22 percent to 1,991.41. Telecom New Zealand nudged ahead 0.4 percent to NZ$4.97. Hong Kong back with a riseHong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.41 percent to 9,109.35, as trading resumed after Tuesday's National Day holiday. Johnson Electronic, a major exporter to the United States, added 3.2 percent to HK$8.05 after Wall Street's run. Bank HSBC moved ahead 0.6 percent to HK$80.75. China Mobile, the second-largest listing in Hong Kong, added 2.8 percent to HK$18.50. First Pacific was a notable decliner, down 6.9 percent to HK$0.81. The Gokongwei group scrapped its effort to buy the company's stake in PLDT, the largest phone company in the Philippines. The bid met with heavy opposition from workers and the company's management. Hutchison Whampoa also fell, down 1.8 percent to HK$44.40, as it cancelled a bond sale in Europe. The fall came despite NEC's decision to buy into its phone ops. (Full story) Singapore's Straits Times index is flat, down 0.02 percent at 1,355.21, in late trade. Bank and tech stocks gave up morning gains as the day wore on.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
