01/30 02:13
Asian Stocks: Nikkei Falls Below 10,000; Hong Kong, Korea Slump
By Michael Tsang
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed below 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 10 after Fujitsu Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. widened their full-year loss forecasts and slashed sales targets of personal computers.
The results ``didn't signal a recovery and also showed that their businesses are losing competitiveness to global rivals,'' said Koichi Ogawa, who helps manage $7.5 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. Today's declines are ``a mixture of negative factors from both the U.S. and Japan.''
The Nikkei 225 shed 106.55, or 1.1 percent, to 9919.48, its lowest since Sept. 28. The Topix index lost 1.4 percent to 964.75, a 16-1/2-year low. Exporters such as Sony Corp. fell after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the U.S. had its biggest loss since September on concern two companies misstated earnings. That may hamper a recovery in Japan's biggest trading partner, analysts said.
In other markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.1 percent as the accounting credibility of some U.S. companies prompted investors to question if HSBC Holdings Plc will have to make more U.S. provisions. South Korea's Kospi index dropped 3.2 percent, led by Kookmin Bank and other creditors of Medison Co., after the medical instruments maker was declared insolvent. Declines in the U.S. helped send Singapore's Straits Times Index down 1.2 percent. |
