I hate Abelson.....yet he was right on the burn-rate of dotcoms.................Asian Stocks: Japan Falls, Led by Fujitsu; Taiwan,
Korea Drop
By Yukiko Takai
Tokyo, April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, led by computer-related
companies such as Fujitsu Ltd. after analysts said Intel Corp. is likely to report
first-quarter profit fell by half as falling demand and a slowing economy hurt
business.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. and other microchip equipment makers fell after an industry
report said orders almost halved in February from the same month last year,
raising concern about declining demand in the industry. The Nikkei 225 stock
average fell 153.99, or 1.2 percent, to 13,231.73. The broader Topix index slipped
0.5 percent to 1292.93.
``Earnings reports from U.S. companies may signal Japanese companies are
also suffering from'' weakening demand, said Naohiko Sasaki, who helps manage
$2.9 billion in Japanese equities at Kokusai Asset Management Co.
Concern about Intel's prospects sent Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
lower, dragging the TWSE Index down 0.8 percent. Korea's Kospi slipped 1
percent, led by SK Telecom Co. after Korea Telecom Corp. said it may sell 3
percent of its SK shares in the market. Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.3
percent, led by DBS Group Holdings Ltd. as investors bet its 17 percent decline
last week already reflects the premium it's paying to acquire Hong Kong's Dao
Heng Bank Group Ltd.
Fujitsu, Japan's largest computer maker and support service provider, fell 3
percent to 1595 yen. Kyocera Corp., the world's leading manufacturer of ceramic
microchip packages, fell 4.1 percent to 11,610 yen.
Intel Corp. on Tuesday is seen reporting first-quarter profit that's less than half
what the biggest computer chipmaker earned a year ago, hurt by falling demand
and a slowing economy, analysts said.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Electron, the No. 2 maker of equipment used to produce
microchips, fell 1.8 percent to 8300 yen, while Advantest Corp., the No. 1 maker
of memory-chip testing equipment, declined 1.5 percent to 13,450 yen.
Orders for semiconductor fabrication machines and equipment made in Japan,
including foreign orders, almost halved to 79 billion yen in February compared
with the same month last year, according to the Semiconductor Equipment
Association of Japan.
Taiwan
Taiwan's TWSE Index fell 46.39 to 5449.08 as investors fret about Intel's
expected profit drop. TSMC, the world's biggest made- to-order chipmaker, fell
1.8 percent to NT$83.50.
``This month we expect more bad news on semiconductors,'' said Chang
Wei-min, head of research at ING Barings in Taiwan. ``We see signs that the
market is close to the bottom. That may be at the end of April or sometime in
May.''
United Microelectronics Corp. fell 0.6 percent to NT$49.70. The world's
second-largest contract chipmaker may build another factory in Singapore, the
Business Times reported, citing chairman John Hsuan. The company will move
one-third of its production capacity to Singapore if it chooses to build a second
plant in the city-state, the newspaper reported.
Among other movers, China Development Industrial Bank fell 3.2 percent to
NT$30.50. Grand Cathay Securities Corp., Taiwan's top domestic equity
underwriter for the past eight years, said Friday it doesn't welcome the bank's bid
to take control of the brokerage. Grand Cathay fell 5.5 percent to NT$17.30.
Korea
Korea's Kospi index fell 4.76 to 511.21. SK Telecom Co. fell on concern its share
price could decline further after Korea Telecom Corp. said it may sell 3 percent of
its SK stake in the market.
SK Telecom shares have shed a third of their value in the last three months since
15 percent of the shares were moved to an overseas holding company in
January, bringing the foreign ownership holding on the stock to its limit.
``Investors are troubled by the uncertainty of how this stake sale will take place,
especially when SK shares are well below the speculation target sale price of
250,000 won a share,'' said Chung Doo Sun, who manages $338 million at CJ
Investment Trust Co. in Seoul.
Samsung Electronics Co. and other technology-related shares fell on concern of
Intel's first-quarter profit report due tomorrow. Samsung, the world's No. 1
computer memory chipmaker, fell 2.2 percent to 198,500 won. Hynix
Semiconductor Inc., formerly known as Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., lost
1.8 percent to 2520 won.
Singapore
Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 4.20 to 1596.78. DBS, Southeast Asia's
largest lender by assets, rose 2.9 percent to S$14.20. The stock fell to a
22-month low on Thursday as investors fret the premium it's paying for Hong
Kong-based Dao Heng Bank is too much.
DBS stock's 14-day relative strength measure, which is derived by averaging out
daily gains and losses over a set period, stood at 23.25 on Thursday. A level
below 30 suggests that the stock has fallen too far, and may rise.
Adding to gains, Datacraft Asia Ltd., which set up a quarter of Asia's
communications networking systems, climbed 1 percent to $4.04. Chartered
Semiconductor Corp., the world's third-biggest made-to-order chipmaker, rose 1
percent to $$4.26.
The stocks gained as investors got their first chance to react to the Nasdaq
Composite Index's completing its best week in 10 months. The market was
closed on Friday for a public holiday.
``These stocks have fallen a lot and the worst seems to be over,'' said Teng
Ngiek Lian, chief investment officer at Value Partners Ltd., which manages $57
million in Asia outside Japan. ``The market is prepared to look beyond the valley
and further into the future.'' |
