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Japan back to strength, Asia stalls
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Japanese stocks are back to their winning ways on Wednesday, but Asian markets are split going into afternoon trade. Japan's Nikkei 225 is up for the sixth time in seven days, ahead 0.76 percent to 8,891.09 at the noon break. The broader Topix is up a similar amount, gaining 0.73 percent to 870.33. There are slight rises in South Korea and New Zealand. But Australia is just in the red, and there are declines for most other markets. Taiwan is faring the worst, off more than 1 percent. Hong Kong and Singapore are just below where they started the day. There is downward pressure from Wall Street, after Nasdaq tumbled 2.53 percent on Tuesday and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.95 percent to 8,676.42. (U.S. roundup) Domestic-play gains in TokyoIn Tokyo, a broad range of domestic plays are leading the market higher, with West Japan Railway up 3.30 percent to 438,000 yen. Traders speculated that public pension funds are buying into the market.
Banks are also moving ahead two days after their earnings, with Mizuho Holdings up 4.92 percent to 128,000 yen and UFJ Holdings up 1.67 percent to 122,000 yen. Internet investor Softbank Corp. is up 2.82 percent to 1,420 yen on a report it is in final negotiations to sell a 30 percent stake in Aozora Bank to overseas investors. (Full story) Telecoms are lower, though, Japan Telecom slumping 2.41 percent to 364,000 yen. Rival cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo is down 0.42 percent to 239,000 yen, with parent NTT off 0.44 percent to 456,000 yen. Japanese stocks are due for a rally, according to BCA Research, with the Tokyo market oversold, U.S. stocks rallying more than 20 percent recently, and Japanese policymakers looking to prop up the market. The yen is stronger at 121.71 in late morning Tokyo trade as the dollar showed little reaction to stronger than expected U.S. gross domestic product figures for the third quarter. Australia just below parIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is just below par, down 0.12 percent to 3,011.7. The Wall Street slide is driving News Corp. down 2.94 percent to A$11.88. Mining stocks are continuing Tuesday's move downward, BHP Billiton off 1.13 percent to A$9.59. Rio Tinto is moving 1.9 percent lower to A$33.00 after it said a project in Madagascar is still only at a very early stage.
Telstra is up 1.83 percent after the government said it will delay its sale of a majority stake in the telecom by at least a year. Qantas is up 0.8 percent to A$3.90, regaining some of the ground lost on Tuesday as investors fretted regulators might disrupt its attempt to buy 22.5 percent of Air New Zealand. New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.02 percent to 1,946.13. Telecom New Zealand closed up 0.64 percent to NZ$4.75. But Air New Zealand fell again on doubts about the Qantas sale, down 1.92 percent to NZ$0.51. Exporters recover in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is down 0.14 percent at 9,981.45 in late morning trade, feeling the effects of the U.S. weakness overnight. But exporters have rebounded from early losses stemming from weaker than expected U.S. consumer confidence figures. Garment shipper Li & Fung is up 0.60 percent to HK$8.40, while small-motor maker Johnson Electronics is up 1.69 percent to HK$9.05. HSBC has arrested its two-day slide and is steady at HK$89.50, though its subsidiary Hang Seng has slipped 0.29 percent to HK$85.75. Taiwan sharpest fall in AsiaIn Taiwan, the Taiex is down 1.14 percent to 4,624.76, the strongest move in Asia in either direction. Tech plays are driving lower after Nasdaq's fall. Screenmaker Au Optronics is off 4.90 percent to T$23.30. Chip foundry UMC is down 3.03 percent to T$25.60. Macronix is topping the volume but flat at T$13.45, holding onto strong gains from Tuesday after Intel Corp. raised prices in flash-memory chips, the main Macronix product. Domestically oriented plays are faring well again, China Steel up 2.13 percent to T$19.20 and Taiwan Cement up 2.94 percent to T$10.50. Korea slightly aheadSouth Korea's Kospi is up 0.11 percent to 703.02 in early afternoon, recovering from losses at the open. But the gains are continued by big-cap losses such as Samsung Electronics, down 0.66 percent to 376,000 won. Rival Hynix Semiconductor is off 3.23 percent to 450 won, with creditors still mulling bailout options for the troubled chipmaker. Singapore's Straits Times index is down 0.03 percent at 1,404.90 but being propped by gains in a few leading big caps. Bank DBS Group is up 0.88 percent to S$11.40, with Creative Technology 1.40 percent higher to S$14.50. Chartered Semiconductor is up 8.24 percent to S$0.985 after it said it has teamed with IBM to develop chip technology and share manufacturing operations.
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