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Nikkei under 9,000 as Asia run ends
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Stocks in the Asia Pacific region lost ground on Monday afternoon, with most major markets closing on a loss. Japan's Nikkei average accelerated its selling toward the close, ending back below the 9,000 mark with a 1.19 percent decline to 8,978.41. The broader Topix index fell half that, down 0.54 percent to 889.08, having been flat at the lunch break. Taiwan turned around from morning losses to end with a very slight gain. But it was alone among the main Asian markets. South Korea saw the heaviest selling, the Kospi dropping almost 3 percent. The other losses were mild. Australia fell a little over 0.5 percent, with Hong Kong off a little less than that. New Zealand stocks ended down 0.25 percent. Preliminary figures showed Singapore ended down 0.25 percent, after trading up on Monday morning. Investors had expected consolidation in Asia after heady gains last week. Futures trading also points to a lower open on Wall Street. Hitachi report knocks chipsIn Japan, stocks fell as investors took the chance to lock in last week's gains. Techs were also dented on worries about earnings. Chipmaker Hitachi finished the day down 3.71 percent at 545 yen, knocked by a report that it has cut its forecasts for the year. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the company has slashed its operating-profit forecast to 130 billion yen, from 200 billion yen.
That depressed other chipmakers, NEC Corp. finishing down 4.21 percent at 500 yen and Toshiba Corp. dropping 4.12 percent to 326 yen. Both are due to report earnings on Friday. Mazda Motor climbed 0.37 percent to 268 yen after the company said it plans to shift its commercial-truck production to Press Kogyo Co. starting next spring. Press Kogyo, a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors, soared 32.2 percent to 78 yen. Bank stocks sold off with Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka due to deliver on Tuesday the initial report from his bad loan task force. Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank, ended flat at 185,000 yen. But the rest of the Big Four fell. Sumitomo Mitsui led the selling with a 2.88 percent fall to 506 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group fell 2.19 percent to 803,000 yen. UFJ Holdings, generally seen as the most troubled big bank, dipped 1.6 percent to 185,000 yen. The yen is stronger than on Friday, at 124.70 to the U.S. dollar after Moody's raised its foreign-currency ceiling. The yen hitting a four-month weak point well above 125. Taiwan comes back on nonchip techsTaiwan's market rebounded from a morning dip to end on a slight rise. The Taiex gained a modest 0.12 percent to 4,463.52. That built on a 16-percent gain last week, though, and brings Taipei stocks to a one-month high.
Screen maker Au Optronics topped the volume charts again, up 5.47 percent to T$21.20. Its smaller rival CPT climbed 5.10 percent to T$13.40. China Airlines leaped the daily 7 percent limit to T$13.65 on the prospect of tighter ties with mainland China. But there were falls for the chip stocks that dominate the market. TSMC dropped 2.15 percent to T$45.50 ahead of its earnings on Tuesday. Smaller rival UMC fell 1.56 percent to T$25.30, and is due to report next week. Futures are showing a lower Wall Street open, after a stronger Friday and a week in which the Dow gained 6 percent and Nasdaq added 6.4 percent. (Full story) Korea falls after six straight gainsIn South Korea, the market couldn't sustain Friday's heady pace, when Taiwan and Korea both soared more than 4 percent. (Full story) On Monday, Korea's Kospi closed down 2.7 percent at 652.67, its first fall after six straight days of gains. SK Telecom was down hard, off 4.07 percent to 224,000 won, after reporting disappointing earnings last week. (Full story) Kookmin Bank was another notable loser, worries over Korea's economy brining its largest bank down 4.89 percent to 43,750 won. Carmaker Hyundai Motor fell 4.8 percent to 31,900 won on a bad day for major exporters. The decline in Samsung Electronics was modest by comparison but it still ended down 0.8 percent at 324,000 won. Market professionals said overseas investors, particularly hedge funds, were locking in short-term gains. Big caps off in SydneyAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.68 percent to 2,990.2 in a shift away from blue chips. Telstra, the second largest listing in Sydney, finished down 0.41 at A$4.80. The telecom company posted a scant increase in sales for the first quarter, up 1.1 percent, and restated its forecast of flat earnings for the year. (Full story) Insurance Australia Group was second in terms of volume, after Telstra. IAG continued to fall with a 2.79 percent dip to A$2.44. It has been depressed since its $1 billion deal to buy Aviva's Australasian assets. (Full story) News Corp., the largest stock trading in Sydney, dropped 1.9 percent to A$10.26 on doubts about the U.S. market. Mining stocks were weak, with BHP Billiton falling 2.89 percent to A$9.74. Rio Tinto declined 1.8 percent to A$32.00. Australia's second-biggest retailer, the grocer Woolworth's, fell 1.8 percent to A$12.31 as investors failed to warm to its 14.3 percent sales growth and a repeat of its outlook for the year. New Zealand's Top 40 index fell 0.25 percent to 2,001.11, with second-largest listing Carter Holt Harvey down 1.83 percent to NZ$1.61. Telecom New Zealand topped the volume with a 0.19 percent rise to NZ$5.15. Jobless rate better than expected in HKIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed down 0.44 percent at 9,570.36 after a meandering day's trade. Property stocks were generally weaker. The government reported after the close that the city's jobless rate stands at 7.4 percent for the July-September quarter, slightly better than the 7.6 percent expected. (Full story) Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest airline, ended down 2.97 percent at HK$11.45 despite an air-services pact signed between Hong Kong and the United States over the weekend. The deal gives Cathay greater access to U.S. destinations and also sets up a code-sharing arrangement with American Airlines. Cathay said it welcomed that deal but was "disappointed" by the concessions U.S. airlines won (Full story) The Bank of China Hong Kong fell 1.88 percent to HK$7.85 and is still well below its July IPO price of HK$8.50. Standard Chartered, the fourth-largest bank in the city, said it would raise around $409 million with its secondary offering at the end of this month. (Full story) Singapore's Straits Times index finished down 0.25 percent at 1,457.71 after ending the morning with a slight rise. Chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor fell 2.02 percent to S$0.97, following its Taiwanese rivals lower. Takeover target NatSteel Ltd. rose 1 percent to S$2.02 after hotel owner Ong Beng Seng raised his offer to S$2.00.
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