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Asian stocks feel U.S. selling pressure
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are lower going into Tuesday afternoon trade, hurt by a slump on Wall Street overnight. But Tokyo is holding up, with the Topix narrowly ahead, up 0.04 percent to 855.24, at the noon break. The Nikkei 225 average is down 0.13 percent, at 8,816.56. Taiwan is selling off hard after strong gains the day before. The Taiex is down more than 1.5 percent in late morning trade. But it did not participate in Monday's selloff. Those markets that did are only slightly down on Tuesday, with South Korea off 0.66 percent and Hong Kong down half that. Australia's market is down 1 percent, and New Zealand closed on a narrow loss. None of the Asian markets are matching Wall Street's selling from Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.99 percent to 8,473.41, and tech stocks plunged, leaving Nasdaq down 3.89 percent. (Full story) Investors were rattled by a downgrade for computer maker IBM and a bankruptcy filing from United, the world's second-largest airline. (Full story) Domestic plays gaining in TokyoIn Tokyo, domestically oriented companies are offsetting losses in technology stocks.
Bank stock Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group is up 1.61 percent at 693,000 yen, while UFJ Holdings is ahead 2.88 percent at 107,000 yen. Cell-phone No. 2 KDDI is up 1.80 percent to 395,000 yen as investors seek safety close to home. Industry leader NTT DoCoMo is flat at 235,000 yen. Defensive plays such as East Japan Railway, up 1.78 percent to 573,000 yen, and Japan Tobacco, ahead 0.92 percent to 767,000 yen, are also benefiting from buying. Nasdaq's plunge is sending chip- and computer-oriented plays reeling, though. NEC Corp. is down 4.17 percent at 460 yen, while circuit maker Kyocera Corp. is down 1.15 percent at 7,730 yen. The yen is trading at 123.57 in early afternoon, much the same level as Friday after a blip of strength gave way. News deals Sydney a blowIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is down 0.99 percent at 2,993.7, depressed by a fall in its biggest stock. News Corp. is off 3.31 percent to A$11.70 after losses in U.S. markets.
Insurer and fund manager AMP is down 1.1 percent at A$12.13 despite naming Peter Wilcox as its new chairman. Retailer David Jones is also seeing management change, and is flat at A$1.07 after naming Mark McInnes as its new CEO. Bionic ear maker Cochlear is down 3.18 percent at A$36.89, leading the net losses. Hepatitis B vaccine maker SciGen is down 11 percent to A$0.089 and topping the volume as it gives back some of Monday's big rally. New Zealand's Top 40 index closed slightly down with a 0.23 percent loss, to 1,920.90. Telecom New Zealand accounted for most of the downward pressure with a 0.43 percent slip to NZ$4.58. PCCW down again in Hong KongHong Kong's Hang Seng index is down around a third of a percent, off 0.31 percent to 9,837.95. Telecom company PCCW is extending Monday's 10 percent plunge with a 3.88 percent fall to HK$1.24.
The company has been battered by the prospect of troubled British telecom Cable & Wireless selling its 14.1 percent stake in PCCW, as well as plans to launch a 5:1 reverse split that could reduce speculation in the stock. HSBC Holdings, the largest listing in the city, is off 0.84 percent to HK$88.75, though its subsidiary Hang Seng is showing a slight 0.29 percent rise to HK$85.00. There are gains in some property stocks, with Sun Hung Kai Properties up 0.50 percent to HK$50.25. Cathay Pacific is also up 0.44 percent to HK$11.35, possibly benefiting from weakness in rival United. Techs sell off in TaipeiTaiwan's Taiex is down 1.61 percent to 4,745.81, the heaviest selling in Asia. Tech stocks are being kicked after Nasdaq's plunge. Screenmaker Au Optronics is off 2.08 percent to T$23.50, while chip foundry UMC is down 4.17 percent to T$25.30. Some domestic plays are continuing Monday's run of strength, though, with shoe maker Pou Chen Industrial up 0.88 percent to T$34.50. After falling when the government announced the sale of a block of its stock, Chang Hwa Bank is restoring a little lost ground with a 0.57 percent rise to T$17.50. Seoul down but Singapore gainsIn South Korea, the Kospi is down 0.66 percent at 704.40, also hit by tech selling. Its largest listing, Samsung Electronics, is down 2.01 percent to 365,000 won, though rival Hynix Semiconductor is getting a technical bounce of 2.56 percent to 400 won after heavy selling on Monday. Department store Shinsegae is down 3.24 percent to 179,000 won, as Samsung Securities downgraded its recommendation on the retail sector. Singapore's Straits Times index is up 0.59 percent to 1,355.91, recovering from a lower open. Bank stock DBS Group is topping the net gains with a 1.87 percent, or S$0.20, rise to S$10.90. Chartered Semiconductor is off 1.09 percent to S$0.905 and topping the volume, as Merrill Lynch confirmed it has cut its stake in the chip foundry to 2.2 percent, from 11 percent. Takeover target NatSteel is down 0.49 percent to S$2.04 after one of the prospective bidders for the company said he would not proceed with a general offer. (Full story)
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