Asia Markets
Tokyo stocks down for fifth day
By Mariko Ando, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:16 AM ET Nov 1, 2001
TOKYO (CBS.MW) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower for a fifth consecutive day Thursday as another wave of pessimism about Japan's economy outweighed gains made in the tech sector.
The leading Nikkei Average lost 19.06 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,347.28, bringing its total loss at 4.9 percent in the last five sessions. The broader TOPIX fell 0.3 percent to 1,055.88.
Recently battered technology shares came back into the spotlight after the Nasdaq jumped 1.4 percent overnight.
On Wednesday, gross domestic product data for the U.S. showed the economy contracted 0.4 percent in the July-September quarter. The figure was better than economists' projection of a 1 percent pullback.
In other developments, U.S. media reported late Wednesday night that Microsoft and the Justice Department have reached a tentative settlement in the historic antitrust case against the software giant, but the 18 states that joined the federal lawsuit had yet to sign on to the pact. See full story.
"Players might be buying Japanese technology shares on the hope that Microsoft's shares will be bought up tomorrow, and that would boost the Nasdaq," said Takayuki Suda, a technology analyst from Mito Securities.
However, some analysts said they would rather be cautious about the development since nothing concrete has been announced about the deal.
"It's possible that Microsoft has agreed to compromise on some points in order to reach a settlement ... so we really need to see the contents of the agreement. Also, even if Microsoft's shares rise tomorrow in New York, it's still uncertain how much impact that would bring to the Nasdaq given the less dominant position that the company has now," said Masatoshi Sato, a senior strategist from Mizuho Investors Securities.
In Tokyo, shares of Japan's leading maker of personal computer NEC (NIPNY) (6701) rallied 5.8 percent to 1,174 yen and those of Sony (SNE) (6758) advanced 0.7 percent to 4,660 yen after being sold heavily in the recent sessions. Hitachi (HIT) (6501) climbed 2.9 percent to 859 yen.
Fuji Photo Film (4901) (4901), however, erased earlier gains to close unchanged at 4,040 yen. The company late Wednesday posted a 39 percent drop in first-half profit to 46.4 billion yen ($386.7 million), falling short of the company's previous forecast. See full story.
Other movers included Bridgestone (BRDCY) (5108), which saw its shares surge 13 percent to 1,297 yen. Investors welcomed the Nihon Keizai daily's report that the ailing tiremaker soon will hold talks with Ford (F) to reconcile differences stemming from their bitter dispute over tire recalls. See full story.
Meanwhile, bank shares struggled again amid fears that persistent weakness in the economy would hamper efforts to clean up bad loans. Shares of UFJ Holdings (8307) dropped 1.5 percent to 538,000 yen and those of Asahi Bank (ASIBY) (8322) fell 1.6 percent to 120 yen.
In the currency markets, the dollar was quoted at 122.29 yen late afternoon Tokyo, down from 122.45 yen late Wednesday in New York where it rose as much as to 122.65 yen.
Seoul, Taipei rise; HSBC rebounds in Hong Kong
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi jumped 1.2 percent to 544.09 points led by gains technology shares.
Samsung Electronics climbed 3.2 percent to 179,000 won. The world's biggest computer memory chip maker agreed with Japan's Mitsubishi Electric to standardize specifications for high-density chips for use in cell phones and PDAs in a bid to lower prices.
Korea Telecom (KTC) picked up 0.3 percent to 48,150 won.
High tech issues drew buying in Taiwan, helping the key Weighted Index to gain 0.7 percent to close at 3,929.69.
United Microelectronics climbed 2.5 percent to NT$29.10 and those of Hon Hai Precision Industries (HNHXY) rose 3.9 percent to NT$133.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 89.88 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 10,158.85.
HSBC Holdings (HBC) (0005), Europe's largest bank with a large exposure to Europe and U.S., bounced back 1.2 percent to HK$85.50 after falling for three straight sessions on worries over possible debt default in Argentina.
China Mobile (CHL) (0941), the mainland's largest mobile phone company, rose 1.9 percent to HK$24.10. Rival China Unicom (CHU) (0762) added 2.1 percent to HK$7.40.
Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCW) (0008), Richard Li's Asian communications group, ended down 1.2 percent at HK$2.075. Li last week reportedly bought $7.58 million convertible bonds in the company, lifting his bond holding to $28 million.
Australia flat after better-than-expected data
Australian shares ended flat following the release of slightly better-than-expected retail data, with the benchmark All Ordinaries Index closing at 3185.70.
Australia's retail sales fell by 0.1 percent in September, said the Bureau of Statistics, showing the first decline since November 2000. The figure, released for the first time after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, beat the market's forecast for a 0.5 percent decline.
The country's biggest retailer Coles Myer (CM) eased 0.2 percent to 7.6 Australian dollars. Qantas Airways (QUBSF) jumped 1.3 percent to A$3.98.
New Zealand's NZ Top 40 advanced 0.4 percent to close at 1,964.83.
Frucor Beverages' shares (FCBVF) shed 0.8 percent to 2.42 New Zealand dollars. The company, targeted in a NZ$294 million takeover bid by France's Group Danone (DA), said first-quarter operating revenue was slightly ahead of the same period in 2000.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 1.5 percent to 1,347.51. Shares of Singapore Telecommunications (SGTJY) lost 2.3 percent to 1.69 Singapore dollars after the company announced to buy a 22.3 percent stake in Indonesian mobile phone operator Telkomsel. See full story.
Markets in the Philippines are closed Thursday and Friday for national holidays.
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