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

To: James F. Hopkins who wrote (43883)	11/4/2001 11:26:03 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Tokyo sags ahead of FOMC, earnings By Mariko Ando, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 10:44 PM ET Nov 4, 2001 TOKYO (CBS.MW) -- Tokyo stocks turned lower at midday Monday as concerns about the earnings picture overtook anticipation of another U.S. cut in interest rates. Other markets in the Asia-Pacific region were little moved. Japan's leading Nikkei Average shed 27.05 points or 0.3 percent, to 10,356.73 at midday, erasing earlier gains. The broader TOPIX lost half a percent to 1,048.21. Losses were led by DoCoMo (NTDOY) (9437) which saw its shares tumble 4.8 percent to 1.58 million yen. The daily Asahi Shinbun reported that Japan's top cell phone operator will take a 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion) fiscal first-half charge for a decline in the value of its 15 percent stake in KPN Mobile NV (KPN). DoCoMo is due to post first- half earnings on Wednesday. DoCoMo's parent NTT (NTT) (9432) lost 1.2 percent to 502,000 yen and those of NTT Data (9613) tumbled 2.9 percent to 294,000 yen. Furukawa Electric Industrial (FUWAY), Japan's leading maker of fiber-optic parts, dropped 2.8 percent to 720 yen ahead of a release of its financial results later in the day. Among other tech companies, Fujitsu (FJTSY) (6702) fell 3.1 percent to 898 yen and those of Hitachi (HIT) (6501) lost half a percent to 881 yen. While many investors stayed cautious from trading ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting Tuesday, some exporters drew buying on hopes that Japan's biggest trade partner would stimulate demand for imports with an interest cut. Most observers expect the Fed to lower its benchmark rate by another half-percentage point. Toyota Motor shares (TM) (7203) rose 1.6 percent to 3,090 yen. Honda (HMC) (7267) added 1.1 percent to 4,490 yen. Nintendo (NTDOY) (7974), which relies heavily on overseas business, advanced 2.3 percent to 19,870 yen. Kyoto-based video game maker said that it's likely to top a first half operating profit forecast of 45 billion yen thanks to a falling price in key component parts such as semiconductor and liquid crystal displays. In the currency market, the dollar was quoted at 121.79 yen late morning Tokyo, up slightly from 121.65 yen in New York late Friday. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9 percent to 555.39 points by late morning. Cell phone careers showed a mixed reaction to the news that the government has decided to give a go sign to a proposal to reduce mobile phone rates by 8.3 percent, the move that would hurt mobile carriers' earnings. Shares of SK Telecom (SKM) gained 2 percent to 254,000 won while those of Korea Telecom (KTC) fell half a percent to 48,850 won. Chipmakers gained the ground in Taiwan, helping the benchmark Weighted Index gain 0.9 percent to 4,035.31 by mid morning session. Still, the index is standing about 4 percent lower from the level seen before the Sept. 11 attacks. The world's foundry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) climbed 3.2 percent to 64.50 Taiwan dollars and those of rival United Microelectronics (UMC) advanced 0.3 percent to NT$31.20. Hong Kong stocks moved little ahead of the FOMC meeting in the U.S. The Hang Seng Index opened flat at 10,180.96, after rising half a percent last Friday. Australia's All Ordinaries Index was trading down 0.2 percent at 3,170 points in late morning session. Telstra's shares (TLS) fell 0.6 percent to 4.84 Australian dollars following a decline in its U.S.-traded ADRs Friday. In New Zealand, the benchmark NZ Top 40 added 0.2 percent to 1,985.36 by early in the afternoon. Singapore's Straits Times Index added half a percent to 1,348.74 in early trade.