I was hoping for some good news, but, Stan.
War fears send Nikkei to 20-yr low Kospi ends at fresh 16-month low
By Mariko Ando, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:46 AM ET March 7, 2003
www2.marketwatch.com
TOKYO (CBS.MW) -- Asia-Pacific stock markets plummeted Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei Average ending at a 20-year lows, as mounting fears over a war in Iraq and North Korea's nuclear threat sparked broad-based selling.
The Nikkei dropped for a fourth straight day, losing 225.03 points, or 2.7 percent, to 8,144.12 -- the lowest close since March 1983. The capital-weighted Topix index slid 2.5 percent to 796.17, the lowest finish since August 1984.
Elsewhere, South Korean stocks tumbled to a new 16-month low. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia also posted hefty losses.
Speculation is mounting that the U.S. might launch a war in Iraq as early as next week, analysts said. President George W. Bush held a press conference Thursday night in which he said that the U.S. will disarm Iraq, even without a resolution from the U.N. Security Council supporting the action.
The dollar eased against the Japanese yen in the morning session in Tokyo -- at the same time Bush was speaking to reporters -- but eventually regained some ground as the U.S. president did not provide details about the possible attack. The greenback was quoted at 117.35 yen in late afternoon trade in Tokyo, unchanged from the New York close.
Spot gold was quoted at $355.70 per ounce in Sydney, down 80 cents from the New York close. Oil held steady, near 12-year highs, at $40 a barrel.
"Bush didn't say anything new, but affirmed his stance about attacking Iraq. The market is speculating that the war could happen as early as next week... so investors are very nervous about trading because we aren't sure how Wall Street would react to the news," said Masatoshi Sato, a senior strategist from Mizuho Investors Securities.
"There's more chance for Tokyo's stock prices to fall from today's level. The dollar is under pressure, but the yen is also weighed down by the North Korea nuclear issue. Meanwhile, it seems like both oil and gold prices are nearing their short-term ceiling... and their prices are likely to fall once the war starts," he said.
Shares of Sony (SNE: news, chart, profile) (JP:6758: news, chart, profile) which relies heavily on exports, dropped 1.85 percent to 4,250 yen. Honda Motor (HMC: news, chart, profile) (JP:7267: news, chart, profile) tumbled 3.6 percent to 3,970 yen amid fears that the recent strengths of the yen would eat into these exporters' overseas revenues.
Toyota Motor (TM: news, chart, profile) (JP:7203: news, chart, profile) declined 0.7 percent to 2,785 yen.
Toshiba (TOSBF: news, chart, profile) (JP:6502: news, chart, profile) lost 2.1 percent to 331 yen. The company is scheduled to brief about its mid-term business strategy after the close of the market.
Nikko Cordial Group (JP:8603: news, chart, profile) (NIKOY: news, chart, profile) plunged 12 percent to 373 yen after local media report said that Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission and the Tokyo Stock Exchange have launched investigation of Nikko Salomon Smith Barnery -- a joint venture between Nikko Cordial and Citigroup (C: news, chart, profile) -- over alleged stock price manipulation.
Nikkon Salomon could be ordered to suspend operations depending on the results of an investigation relating to an exchange-traded fund, said the Nihon Keizai daily.
South Korean stocks extend losses
South Korea's benchmark Kospi sank 1.7 percent to close at a fresh 16-month low of 546.02 points. The index has lost nearly 10 percent since Feb. 25 when North Korea test-fired a missile into the Sea of Japan on the eve of the inauguration of South Korea's new president Roh Moo-hyun.
Chip maker Hynix Semiconductor (HXSDY: news, chart, profile) dropped 5.3 percent to 180 won after Intel (INTC: news, chart, profile) said it has narrowed its first-quarter sales estimates due to weaker-than-expected sales of flash memory microchips.
The country's top automaker, Hyundai Motor (HYMLY: news, chart, profile) lost 1.8 percent to 21,700 won, after losing nearly 14 percent in the last two days. The company generates more than half of its sales in overseas market.
Taiwan's Weighted Index fell 1.07 percent to close at 4,350.59 points.
United Microelectronics (UMC: news, chart, profile) gave up 1 percent to NT$19.20, and China Steel (CISXF: news, chart, profile) tumbled 4.3 percent to NT$19.90. Bank shares also lost ground.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was trading down 1.5 percent at 1,225.17 points in early afternoon session, dragged down by a 3.6 percent decline in Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (CHRT: news, chart, profile) to S$0.675.
Hong Kong falls
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the morning session down 0.56 percent at 8,912.45 points.
China's biggest mobile phone operator China Mobile (CHL: news, chart, profile) (HK:0941: news, chart, profile) fell 0.6 percent to HK$15.50, building on Thursday's 3.4 percent drop. The company denied market rumor that the company's chairman Wang Xiaochu will leave the company, saying such speculation was unfounded.
China Unicom (CHU: news, chart, profile) (HK:0762: news, chart, profile) was down 2.2 percent at HK$4.275.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index declined 1.2 percent to 2,715 points. Rupert Murdoch's media giant News Corp. (NWS: news, chart, profile) was down 2.4 percent at A$9.58.
Mariko Ando is a Tokyo-based reporter for CBS MarketWatch.com. |
