|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japan wobbles as banks fall again
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks closed generally lower Tuesday, with Japan's big banks again leading a selloff in Tokyo. Tokyo's broad Topix index fell 0.82 percent to 817.09, its lowest close since October 1984. But gains by selected tech stocks saw the Nikkei 225 rally in afternoon trade. By the close, it even managed a small rise, up 0.23 percent to 8,365.26. At one point, the Nikkei fell to 8246.53, below last week's 19-year closing low of 8,303.39. Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan closed 1.34 percent lower, the largest loss in Asia. Australia and New Zealand both fell about a third of a percent. South Korea was Asia's best performer, with the Kospi closing 0.65 percent higher at 671.44. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up almost half a percent, but Singapore's Straits Times index closed down a quarter of a percent. The region saw selling pressure after a lower close from Wall Street on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.08 percent after disappointing numbers from Wal-Mart, while Nasdaq ended down 1.24 percent. (U.S. roundup) Banks plunge to record lows
In Tokyo, doubts continued to plague the banking industry about the impact of the government's plan to tackle bad debts, despite a pledge from Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka that none of the big banks is in immediate danger. Mizuho Holdings tumbled 16.2 percent to 99,700 yen, and UFJ Holdings fell 10.1 percent to register fresh record lows. UFJ in fact fell its daily limit, off 10,000 yen to 89,000 yen, with media reports suggesting it will soon be nationalized. It has halved in value since November 5. (Full story) Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, down 4.7 percent to 651,000 yen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., off 5.9 percent to 335 yen, also plunged to historical lows in a dire day for the big banks. The central Bank of Japan said Tuesday it was leaving monetary policy unchanged, as nervousness about the government's structural reform plans heightens. (Full story) Select techs gainFixed-line telecom NTT dropped 2.60 percent to 449,000 yen after reporting a return to profit on Monday, amid a decline in sales. (Full story) Its telecom subsidiary NTT DoCoMo, which had already reported a 95 percent decline in profit for the first half, lost 2.75 percent to 212,000 yen. Gains outside the banking sector were in selected techs. Hitachi jumped 7.2 percent to 431 yen, while Japan Telecom rose 2.3 percent to 353,00 yen. Sony clawed back some of Monday's losses, up 1.4 percent to 5,070 yen. Australia ends with lossesIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.33 percent lower at 2,989.7, despite a slight rise in its largest listing. News Corp. rose 0.17 percent to A$11.62, while No. 2 listing Telstra Corp. dipped 0.66 percent to A$4.53. Telstra said it would vigorously defend an action against its Foxtel pay-TV joint venture by the Seven television network. (Full story) Banks were lower on doubts about the domestic and international economies. Resources leader BHP Billiton eased 1.14 percent to A$9.52. But BHP's partner in the North West Shelf, Woodside Petroleum, gained 0.86 percent to A$11.76 after it said the project had won a contract to supply liquefied natural gas to South Korea. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 ended down 0.38 percent at 1,963.22, with Telecom New Zealand, the largest listing, losing 1.05 percent to NZ$1.69. Telecoms off in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed up 0.45 percent at 9,965.03, rallying in late trade. Telecom PCCW ended down 0.74 percent to HK$1.34 after it said it will move 3,000 workers -- one quarter of its work force -- to a new tech-support subsidiary it hopes will become a profitable side business. (Full story) But telecom losses moderated, with China Mobile ending off 0.49 percent at HK$20.20 and China Unicom closing flat at HK$5.90. Recent debutant China Telecom fell 1.34 percent to HK$1.47, its initial offering price. Property stocks rallied in the afternoon, Sun Hung Kai gaining 1.42 percent to HK$53.75. Bank stock HSBC, the Hang Seng's biggest component, again drove the market higher again, up 0.56 percent to HK$90.00 after a strong run on Monday. Conglomerate China Resources ended down 4.49 percent at HK$7.45 after reporting a slide in profit for the first half of the year. (Full story) Taiwan techs, banks lowerIn Taiwan, the Taiex lost 1.34 percent to 4,726.50, after Nasdaq's slip. Screenmaker Au Optronics fell 2.66 percent to T$25.60, while computer company Acer lost 2.11 percent to T$32.40. Banks finished lower. South Korea's Kospi index was the only major gainer in the region, up 0.65 percent to 671.44. Memory chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor jumped 14.63 percent to 465 won, and market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rose 0.43 percent to 352,500 won. Fixed-line telecom KT Corp. was flat and cell-phone service SK Telecom lost 1.26 percent to 235,000 won after the government said Monday it will force the operator to raise rates next year. (Full story) Singapore's Straits Times index finished down 0.25 percent at 1,393.77. Southeast Asia's largest bank, DBS Group, rose 0.89 percent to S$11.30. On Monday, Singapore reduced its growth forecast for the year. (Full story)
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
