|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese banks lead a rebound
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets are mainly higher on Wednesday afternoon, with Japan firming on a rebound in bank shares. But Singapore and Taiwan are lower. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average is 1.63 percent higher to 8,501.29 by midday, while the broader TOPIX index is up a sharp 2.17 percent to 834.83. That follows Tuesday's down day, when the Topix closed at an 18-year low and the Nikkei was near last Thursday's 19-year low of 8,303.39. Japan's big banks are up sharply from lifetime lows, with UF Holdings, Mizuho Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp registering double-digit gains by the midday break. Exporters are also drawing strength from a weaker yen, trading at 122.27 to the U.S. dollar in Tokyo. "There's very little good news to spur buying, but a slightly weaker yen gives support to exporters," Kazunori Jinnai of Daiwa Securities SMBC told Reuters news agency. Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's Kospi is doing well, up 1.34 percent to 680.32. Australia is up 0.2 percent and New Zealand's Top 40 is down 0.17 percent after Wellington's central bank left interest rates on hold. (Full story) Taiwan, Singapore weakerHong Kong is flat, tending into the black. But Taiwan's Taiex is down about 1.47 percent to 4,657.01 on tech weakness, and Singapore's Straits Times index is off about half a percent in late morning trade. Wall Street's weaker day Tuesday weighed on many markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.14 percent at 8,475.78 following a disappointing outlook from home-improvement leader Home Depot. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.38 percent to 1,374.51. (Full story) But US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Council on Foreign Relations that the U.S. economy is still growing and the world economy has become more flexible. (Full story) In Tokyo, Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, has jumped 10 percent to 110,000 yen, after it denied a newspaper report that it was seeking to raise as much as $6.5 billion in fresh capital. (Full story) Earlier in the morning it touched a record low of 95,200 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui is up 13.13 percent to 379 yen, UFJ is up 10.45 percent to 98,300 yen and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group is 8.18 percent ahead at 701,000 yen. Exporters have made some good gains. Consumer electronics leader Sony is 1.6 percent higher at 5,150 yen, Matsushita Electric is up 2.5 percent to 1,169 yen and Mitsubishi Electric is 5.34 percent ahead at 276 yen. Automakers higher
Automakers are also among the gainers. Honda and Nissan are up about 2 percent and market leader Toyota is about 1 percent higher at 3,180 yen. On Tuesday Nissan reported its best half-year yet, with net profit up 25 percent. (Full story) Telcos are doing well, with NTT DoCoMo up 3.77 percent to 220,000 yen and rival KDDI up 3 percent to 345,000 yen. Third-ranked Japan Telecom is about 2.8 percent higher. In Seoul, market heavyweight Samsung Electronics is up 2 percent, as is fund favorite SK Telecom. Hyundai Motor, which relies heavily on exports, is 2.03 percent higher at 30,200 won. News, Telstra upIn Australia, big caps News Corp and Telstra are both slightly in the black, as are most of the big banks. Resources leaders BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are both more than 1.2 percent higher. CSR is among the biggest gainers, up 3.16 percent after reporting a strong half-year result. Hong Kong stocks are mainly flat, with property stocks showing some of the better gains. In Singapore, big banks OCBC and UOB are down and leader DBS is flat at S$11.30. Taiwan's techs are broadly weaker, in line with Nasdaq. Chip foundries TSMC and UMC are down 2.7 percent and 2.3 percent respectively. China Steel is off more than 3 percent and China Airlines is down 4.84 percent to T$14.75. Reuters contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
