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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dealer who wrote (7178)	10/10/2000 11:09:51 PM
From: Dealer	Respond to of 65232

Tokyo stocks sink by midday, track weaker Nasdaq TOKYO, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks sank in Wednesday morning trade after the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC - news) tumbled 3.43 percent and U.S. telecoms equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc (NYSE:LU - news) cut its fourth-quarter outlook after the bell. Broad-based selling dragged the benchmark Nikkei average down 272.78 points or 1.72 percent to 15,554.94 by midday. It briefly fell two percent to 15,511.75, its lowest level since July 31. The broader TOPIX index (^TOPX - news) stumbled 23.29 points or 1.57 percent to 1,459.28. Losers outnumbered gainers 955 to 250 on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. ``Some of the selling in Japan might look a bit overdone with even the more defensive issues being sold, but nobody's in the mood to buy since the Nasdaq looks like it's headed even lower and U.S. investors are pulling their money out of Japan,'' said Katsuhiko Kodama, head of equities at Toyo Securities. Traders said further losses in U.S. technology stocks would spur more U.S. investors to sell their Japanese shareholdings to cover losses at home. Some also cited concerns that slower growth at U.S. chipmakers could signal what lies ahead for Japan's semiconductor industry. Chip and electronics maker NEC Corp fell 5.29 percent to 2,150 yen, while Fujitsu Ltd slipped 4.95 percent to 2,210 yen. Both issues had also fallen heavily on Tuesday, with NEC closing down 4.42 percent and Fujitsu down 5.87 percent. Retail chain operator Daiei Inc was the biggest loser in percentage terms, diving 16.02 percent to 215 yen by midday after marking a lifetime low of 213 yen. The debt-strapped retail giant said late on Tuesday that its president, Tadasu Toba, had been demoted to director amid a scandal over his trading of shares in a company affiliate, leaving the post of presidency vacant until the next shareholders' meeting in May. Also, Moody's Investors Service said it had placed Daiei's B1 senior unsecured long-term debt rating under review for a possible downgrade. The retail sector, however, managed to eke out modest gains. Fast Retailing Co Ltd firmed 4.02 percent to 25,900 yen after the discount clothing retailer announced a 400 percent jump in parent net profit for the year to August. Troubled Internet investor and mobile phone subscription agent Hikari Tsushin Inc plunged 13.88 percent to 2,885 yen by midday, after earlier falling to a lifetime low of 2,860 yen. Hikari Tsushin said on Tuesday it had paid extra tax after failing to declare accurate income in the three years to August last year. Traders said shares in Hikari Tsushin were also hurt by news it faced a lawsuit in the U.S. along with e-mail service provider Crayfish Co Ltd (NasdaqNM:CRFH - news) , a Hikari affiliate. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of investors who bought shares in Crayfish, alleging it had made misrepresentations in its initial public offering concerning the company's financial condition and had failed to disclose material facts on the impact from Hikari's business. Crayfish was ask-only at 1.19 million yen, unchanged from Tuesday's last offer price.