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Tokyo hits month low as Asia slips
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Stock markets are generally lower as the afternoon sets off in Asia Wednesday, with Japan hitting a one-month low. It was a one-day respite for Tokyo stocks, which are back on the downward slope. The Nikkei average ended the morning down 1.75 percent at 8,361.60. The broader Topix index fell 1.67 percent to 818.04 at lunch, after profit warnings also drove U.S. stocks lower. Hong Kong is also down more than 1 percent. But the selling is contained in the rest of Asia, though. Taiwan is down around a third of a percent. Australia and Singapore are both flat, and there are gains in South Korea and New Zealand. Smaller markets around the region also show a mixed pattern of gainers and losers. U.S. stocks crunched lower on Tuesday, after McDonald's warned it would post its first quarterly loss as a public company. Micron Technology hurt techs by posting a wider loss than expected. The Dow Jones industrial closed down 1.07 percent to 8,535.39, while Nasdaq fell 0.59 percent. (U.S. roundup) Financials off in TokyoIn Tokyo on Wednesday, there is selling in financial issues, with brokerage Nikko Cordial off 5.35 percent to 389 yen.
Property and casualty insurer Millea Holdings is also down hard, off 3.10 percent to 875,000 yen, on a report it will have to cover part of the 30 billion yen payout for an October fire on a ship being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Bank stocks are sliding after strong gains on Tuesday. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group is down 4.33 percent to 640,000 yen, UFJ Holdings is off 4.59 percent to 104,000 yen, and Mizuho Holdings is down 6.78 percent to 110,000 yen. Toyota Motor is down 2.22 percent to 3,090 yen and Honda Motor is off 2.05 percent to 4,310 yen after Japan's top two auto companies forecast sales for next year. With stocks moving lower 10 days out of 11 in Tokyo, some investors suggest the Nikkei is headed toward its 19-year closing low of 8,303 set on November 14. Oil Search hurting in SydneyIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is essentially flat, down 0.01 percent at 2,986.5, in afternoon trade. Oil Search Ltd. is topping the volume with a 27.5 percent collapse to A$0.58 after Australia Gas Light Co. said it was reconsidering buying gas from Papua New Guinea.
Oil Search owns a share of the gas pipeline linking Papua New Guinea to Australia. Recent gains in the price of oil are lifting BHP Billiton 0.20 percent to A$9.92, but Rio Tinto is down 1.45 percent to A$33.25 after overnight losses in Britain. Burns Philp is up 2.11 percent at A$0.485 as it proceeds with its offer for food group Goodman Fielder, off 0.56 percent to A$1.79. New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.54 percent to 1,920.88, as Telecom New Zealand gained 2.73 percent to NZ$4.51. Air New Zealand moved up 2 percent to NZ$0.51 after the New Zealand government approved its alliance with Australian carrier Qantas. The New Zealand stock exchange said it was putting off the introduction of a Top 50 index, which will replace the Top 40, until February. Wheelock tumbling in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is down 1.01 percent to 9,617.97, led by losses in Wheelock. The developer is down 5.98 percent to HK$5.50 after its New Asia Realty subsidiary said it plans to buy out Realty Development Corp., another subsidiary. Some investors had been speculating that Wheelock would take both subsidiaries private. Bank stock and No. 1 listing HSBC is down 0.56 percent at HK$88.00 after fresh figures showed lending decreased in London, its base. Higher oil prices are hurting shares in airline Cathay Pacific, down 2.67 percent to HK$10.95. Taiwan slides on China SteelIn Taiwan, the Taiex is off 0.32 percent at 4,531.14 as chip foundry UMC falls again. It is down 0.87 percent to T$22.80 in late morning. Chunghwa Telecom was up 1.22 percent in early trade to T$49.90 after the government sold a 13.5 percent stake in the island's leading telecom to a local consortium. (Full story) The leader of the bid, Cathay Financial, is up more than 3 percent as it says the investment will add T$2.4 billion a year to net profits. China Steel is again topping the volume and is off 0.51 percent to T$19.40. Korea moves up on chip gainsSouth Korea's Kospi index is up 0.60 percent to 708.74, with Samsung Electronics 1.13 percent higher to 357,500 won. Industry peer Hynix Semiconductor is up 7.25 percent to 380 yen. Kookmin Bank, the country's largest lender, is up 2.18 percent to 46,850 won. Singapore's Straits Times is level at 1,343.06. DBS Group has returned to its winning ways, up 0.89 percent to S$11.30, with rival UOB up 0.86 percent to S$11.70. Higher fuel prices are hurting Singapore Airlines, though, off 2.88 percent to S$10.10.
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