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Asian stocks in broad slide
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are lurching lower going into Monday afternoon trade, with a hefty selloff through most of the region. Tokyo's Nikkei average ended the morning down 1.79 percent at 8,534.89 Heavy bank stock losses are driving the Topix down even more, off 1.91 percent at lunch at 845.98. The picture is the same through the rest of Asia, with South Korea and Taiwan both off more than 2 percent and Hong Kong near that mark. Australia and Singapore are both down almost 1 percent and New Zealand is down around half that. Asian investors are responding to a second day of weakness in U.S. markets on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending down 0.57 percent and Nasdaq lopping off 1.27 percent. (Full story) Banks leading Tokyo sellingIn Tokyo, banks are topping the selling, with UFJ Holdings down 8.92 percent to 143,000 yen and Mizuho Holdings off 7.69 percent to 156,000 yen.
Sumitomo Mitsui is following them down with a 6.28 percent slide to 418 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group looks positively sunny in comparison, but is still posting a 3.3 percent fall to 761,000 yen. Cell-phone company KDDI is also down hard, off 7.49 percent and leading the net losses with a 26,000 yen drop to 321,000 yen. The country's No. 2 cell phone company said Friday it tripled earnings in the first half of the year, but saw a slide in sales. UBS Warburg cut its rating on the company on Monday. (Full story) The threat from a strong currency is also eating into share prices of major exporters. New figures showed that Japan's current account surplus shrank for September. (Full story) The yen is trading at 119.53 to the U.S. dollar, slightly stronger again after its sudden surge below 120 on Friday. Officials in Japan say the sudden move isn't warranted by Japan's economy. Sony Corp. is down 3.28 percent to 5,020 yen, with Toshiba down almost 6 percent and Honda Motor off 4.87 percent at 4,100 yen. Australia seen slowingIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is off 0.99 percent to 2,978.9 in early afternoon, with News Corp. down 1.2 percent to A$11.38. Big caps and bank stocks are lower after the central Reserve Bank of Australia warned the country's economy would likely weaken in the months ahead. (Full story) Telecom stock Telstra is down 1.70 percent to A$4.61 and second in the volume charts. New Zealand's Top 40 closed down 0.4 percent at 1,948.52, one of the stronger showings in the Asia Pacific. Telecom New Zealand dipped 0.21 percent lower to NZ$4.81. Hang Seng reshuffled in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is down 1.9 percent at 9,585.18 in late morning trade, due in part to the U.S. losses from Friday. Investors are also factoring in a reorganization of the 33-stock Hang Seng index itself. Hysan Development is down 4.76 percent to HK$6.00, with Hang Lung Group off 4.01 percent to HK$6.70. Both property developers are being dropped from the index, making way for the Bank of China Hong Kong and retailer Esprit Holdings. Bank of China is up a modest 1.23 percent to HK$8.25, with Esprit up 1.85 percent to HK$13.75. Market leader HSBC is putting a big drag on Hong Kong trade with a 1.70 percent fall to HK$86.75. Korean exporters off on wonIn Seoul, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index is down 2.05 percent in early afternoon trade at 661.00. Exporters such as Samsung Electronics are lower, the chipmaker trading off 2.78 percent at 349,500 won, hit by a stronger won. Cell-phone company SK Telecom is off 4.02 percent to 227,000, second in the net losses behind Samsung. Kookmin Bank, the country's largest retail bank, is down 2.49 percent to 41,150 won as investors worry about the strength of the Korean economy and higher consumer debt levels. Taiwan techs lowerTaiwan's Taiex is off 2.08 percent to 4,710.83, reacting mainly to Nasdaq's fall from Friday. UMC is down 5.61 percent to T$26.90, with larger rival TSMC off 5.69 percent to T$48.10. China plays are faring well as the 16th Communist Party Congress on the mainland raises hopes of tighter ties with Taiwan. The island's No. 2 carrier, Eva Airways, is up 1.86 percent to T$16.40. Singapore's Straits Times index is down 0.82 percent at 1,414.19 in late morning, with sound card maker Creative Technology off 2.2 percent to S$13.20. Asian investors are also showing an unwillingness to move into stocks after the United Nations approved a resolution on Iraq, heightening tension in the Gulf again.
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