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Japan up but Asia pauses
HONG KONG, China -- Japanese stocks are higher heading into afternoon trade on Friday, boosted by telecom and car-stock gains. The Nikkei 225 average ended the morning session up 0.39 percent to 8,674.46, after opening lower. The Topix index ended the session just above par, with a 0.14 percent gain to 863.48. But most Asian markets are lower, with declines in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. Hong Kong and New Zealand are trading higher. U.S. stocks were split on Thursday, with a 0.36 percent decline in the Dow Jones industrial average, to 8,397.03. But the tech-driven Nasdaq composite rose 0.23 percent. (U.S. roundup) Car stocks up in TokyoIn Tokyo, skepticism about the bank-reform plan gave way to buying in a few big-cap names.
Toyota Motor is up 3.36 percent to 3,080 yen after posting record results earlier this week, thanks mainly to strong U.S. sales. (Full story) Telecom stocks are enjoying a solid run, with NTT second in the net gains with an 8,000 yen jump, for a rise of 1.78 percent to 455,000 yen. Cell-phone subsidiary NTT DoCoMo is also higher, up 1.77 percent to 230,000 yen. Rival KDDI is up 1.67 percent to 370,000 yen. Bank stocks are down after bucking Thursday's losses. Mizuho Holdings is down 1.61 percent to 183,000 yen on a report it will write off 1 trillion yen in bad loans next business year. (Full story) The yen is trading steady at 122.74. Retail sales up in AustraliaIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is down 1.01 percent to 3,012.3. Investors ignored a better-than-expected 0.7 percent rise in retail sales in September, focusing instead on the likelihood of a U.S. interest-rate cut. News Corp. is down 1.2 percent to A$10.51, while mining big caps BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are both about 1 percent lower. Westpac is seeing a bit of selling after rising on its earnings the day before. It is down 1.4 percent to A$14.00. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 is up 0.86 percent at 2,039.70, driven by a 1.58 percent rise in Telecom New Zealand, to NZ$5.14. Kospi down in SeoulSouth Korea's Kospi is down 0.71 percent to 654.24, with steelmaker POSCO down 2.18 percent to 112,000 won. Korean Air Lines is 4.58 percent lower at 13,550 won despite posting strong third quarter earnings. Cell-phone company SK Telecom is off 1.33 percent at 222,000 won, still reeling from a 30-day ban on signing new customers for offering illegal handset subsidies. Taiwan's Taiex is down 0.81 percent at 4,541.87, reversing course after a higher open. Chip-set maker Via Technologies is down after posting a 95 percent drop in third quarter profit on Thursday. Banks boost Hong KongHong Kong's Hang Seng is up 0.35 percent at 9,474.66 in late morning, with banks up ahead of a likely cut in U.S. interest rates next week. HSBC Holdings is up 1.18 percent at HK$86.00, with subsidiary Hang Seng ahead 0.30 percent at HK$84.50. British bank Standard Chartered is up 3.45 percent to HK$90.00, after getting its secondary offering off the ground on Thursday with a 3.57 percent rise. (Full story) China Telecom delayed its stock offering, the third-largest in the world this year, and will reopen the book building next week with a lower price. (Full story)
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