Asian markets shrug off CSCO techs sell off anyway -->
Tokyo stocks ease; Sony falls further
Taipei, Seoul also hit by tech-selling
By Mariko Ando, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:15 PM ET Aug. 23, 2001
TOKYO (CBS.MW) - Despite upbeat comments from tech bellwether Cisco, Asian markets
were down Friday as investors weren't convinced that the outlook for the tech sector had
improved.
Japan's Nikkei Average had fallen 0.15
percent, or 17.07 points, to 11,109.85.
The broader Topix gave up 0.29 percent
to 1,144.07.
Technology bellwether Sony (SNE:
news, chart, profile) (JP:6758: news,
chart, profile) rose early but gains would
not last. Shares fell 0.9 percent to 5,500
yen. Sony's shares have fallen over 46
percent since hitting a year's high of
10,340 yen on May 22.
Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC:
news, chart, profile) (JP:6752: news,
chart, profile) dropped 2.2 percent to
1,724 yen, while Hitachi (HIT: news,
chart, profile) (JP:6501: news, chart,
profile) lost 1.7 percent to 979 yen.
Sentiment was also hurt by a decline in
U.S. stocks. In New York, the Nasdaq
fell 0.92 percent while the Dow dropped
0.46 percent.
Among notable movers was NTT (NTT:
news, chart, profile) (JP:9432: news,
chart, profile), which sank 4.2 percent to
567,000 yen. On Thursday, shares fell
below the 600,000-yen level for the first
time since February 1993.
NTT's cell phone business unit, NTT DoCoMo (NTDMY: news, chart, profile) (JP:9437: news, chart,
profile), snapped a seven-day losing streak and added 2 percent to 1.52 million yen.
Kyocera (KYO: news, chart, profile) (JP:6971: news, chart, profile) rose 1.8 percent to 7,430 yen.
After the close on Thursday, Kyocera cut its group net profit forecast for the year to next March
almost by half. Kyocera now expects a consolidated operating profit of 82 billion yen ($680 million) in
the year through March, down from its prior projection of 170 billion yen.
South Korea's Kospi was trading down 0.12 percent at 569.41 points by late morning. Volume leader
Hynix Semiconductor sank 7.5 percent to 1,295 won, while Samsung Electronics was steady at
192,500 won.
Kookmin Bank (KKBKY: news, chart, profile) rose 1.9 percent to 19,000 won. The U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission is set to approve the listing of Kookmin Bank and Housing & Commercial
Bank's merged entity on the New York Stock Exchange early September, the Korea Herald reported.
Kookmin Bank and H&CB is scheduled to merge as of October 31, creating the country's biggest
bank, to be called Kookmin Bank.
Taiwan stocks extended the previous day's losses as investors remained cautious over corporate
earnings amid a murky outlook for the economy. Taiwan's government said Thursday that the jobless
rate hit a record high of 4.92 percent in July.
By mid morning, the Weighted Index was down 1.49 percent at 4,393.43, adding to Thursday's 0.67
percent decline.
Technology leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM: news, chart, profile) dropped 1.6
percent to 61.00 Taiwan dollars, while rival United Microelectronics (UMC: news, chart, profile)
tumbled 3.4 percent to T$37.10.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened down 0.68 percent, or 76.78 points, at 11,268.60.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index picked up 0.57 percent to 3,282.80 points by late morning. Surfwear
maker Billabong International (BLLAF: news, chart, profile) added 0.4 percent to 6.56 Australian
dollars ahead of the release of its full-year results later in the day.
New Zealand stocks outperformed the region's markets, as the NZ Top 40 jumped 1.1 percent to
2,060.82. Healthcare and appliance firm Fisher & Paykel (FSPKF: news, chart, profile) rallied 5.2
percent to 14.20 New Zealand dollars.
Singapore's Straits Times Index inched down 0.17 percent at 1,632.63, while Malaysia's KLSE
Composite added 0.62 percent to 674.02 in early morning trade.
The dollar was trading at 119.95 yen by mid morning Tokyo, up from 119.85 yen in New York late
Thursday. It changed hands at 120.35 yen late Thursday in Tokyo. |
