Nikkei up; yen awaits O'Neill talk
S. Korean stocks reverse early dip
By Bill Clifford, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 8:39 PM ET Jan 22, 2002
TOKYO (CBS.MW) -- Asian markets struggled to play defense early Wednesday, with Tokyo mixed and Seoul higher despite Wall Street weakness after retailer Kmart filed for bankruptcy protection and Motorola posted its first annual loss in 71 years.
Japan's Nikkei Average was up 0.35 percent, or 35.58 points, at 10,086.56, but the broader, capital-weighted Topix Index hovered in negative territory.
The yen opened at 133.66 to the dollar, steady with New York's close but back from an intraday 39-month high of 134.20-30 to the dollar. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who has appeared to look on the yen's recent strength with benign neglect, will hold a press luncheon in Tokyo later.
Shares of Honda Motor (HMC) rose 1 percent to 5,210 yen, up 50 yen. The Nihon Keizai business daily reported Honda expects a 43-percent increase in group operating profit in the year through March 31 to a record 580 billion yen.
Shares of Toyota (TM) were flat at 3,450 yen.
Sony (SNE) was up 0.9 percent at 5,870 yen, and Fuji Photo Film (FUJIY) gained 2.8 percent to 5,870.
Shares of Snow Brand Food (SOBRF) plunged 14.7 percent to 191 yen.
The Japanese dairy company embroiled in a food-poisoning scandal in 2000, now is suspected of importing Australian beef and repackaging it as domestic beef in a bid to get government aid for "mad-cow" disease, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported. A few Japanese cases of mad cow last year have wreaked havoc for certain restaurants, retailers and food companies.
Snow Brand was already struggling with a decline of more than 30% in sales of milk products due to a tainted-milk scandal. In announcing a second reconstruction plan in November, Snow Brand said it expects a group net loss of 24 billion yen $180 million) for the year ending March 31.
Shares of Mitsui Construction (MIEIF) and Sumitomo Construction (SUOCF) were suspended by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after the Asahi newspaper reported the two second-tier general contractors were considering a merger.
The Nasdaq Japan market suspended trading Wednesday at the Osaka Securities Exchange's 9 a.m. opening due to a computer-system glitch, the OSE said.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.13 percent, or about 4 points, to 3,425.90.
Australian media giant News Corp. (NWS) fell 1.6 percent, but resources heavyweight BHP Billiton (BHP) was up 0.7 percent. Banking shares were mixed.
South Korea's Kospi Index, after opening lower, extended the previous day's gains by mid-morning, up 0.6 percent at 722.83.
Pohang Iron & Steel (PKX) advanced 2 percent to 127,000 won, and SK Telecom (SKM) rose 1 percent to 248,000 won.
Shares of semiconductor maker Samsung Electronics was paring losses, down 1 percent at 297,000 won, after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gave up 4.6 percent Tuesday. Shares of merger target Hynix Semiconductor were flat at 2,585 won.
Taiwan's tech-studded Weighted Index rose 0.44 percent to 5,829.57.
In the Philippines, the PSE Composite rallied a further 0.75 percent to 1,287.49.
But Singapore stocks were little changed and Malaysia's key KLSE gauge fell 0.3 percent. |
