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Asian markets take a tumble
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian stocks are broadly lower by midday Wednesday, with big falls for South Korea and Singapore after a downturn on Wall Street. The region's biggest market, Tokyo, is in the red but only marginally so. At the end of the morning session, the Nikkei 225 average is down 0.28 percent to 8108.49, while the broader Topix index is off 0.05 percent to 802.24. On Tuesday the Nikkei fell 1.44 percent, largely reversing a gain of 2 percent made on Monday when investors thought they could see an early end to the war in Iraq. Australia and Taiwan are both down about 0.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is off 1.6 percent. New Zealand is going against the trend, with a minor rise of 0.04 percent to 1972.8 near the close. Markets in Europe and the United States were lower Tuesday on the troubled outlook for corporate profits, despite relief about a potentially quick end to the conflict. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average ended marginally in the red, while the Nasdaq lost about half a percent. (Full story) In Japan, tech-related issues and carmakers are down again, but the battered banking sector is showing some slight gains. Big exporter Sony is down 2.18 percent to 4030 yen and Kyocera is off 2.42 percent to 6050 yen. Tokyo Electron is 2 percent lower at 4460 yen. Among banks, UFJ is unchanged at 103,000 yen, Mizuho Financial Group is up 1.25 percent to 72,900 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is ahead 1.12 percent to 181,000 yen. Mizuho touched a record low of 68,000 yen last Friday. Leading airline JAL is off 3.6 percent to 215 yen as carriers around the region feel the impact on passenger numbers of the SARS disease and the Iraq war. The market's biggest stock, NTT DoCoMo, is up 0.41 percent to 246,000 yen. South Korea downIn South Korea, the benchmark Kospi is down 2.46 percent to 572.27, with heavy falls for some blue chips. SK Telecom is down 5.85 percent to 169,000 won and Samsung Electronics is 3.34 percent lower to 289,000 won. Hyundai Motor is off 3.75 percent to 25,700 won. Singapore's Straits Times index is off 1.87 percent to 1293.40, driven down by a 3.24 percent loss for Singapore Airlines and a 3.2 percent drop for banking leader DBS. SingTel is flat at S$1.43. Australia's S&P/ASX200 is down 0.64 percent to 2959.6. Media group News Corp initally rose on hopes that a deal to buy DirecTV is in the offing, but is down 0.34 percent to A$11.63 in early afternoon trade. But airline Qantas is down 3.75 percent to A$3.08 after it announced it would cut 1,400 jobs because of the slump in passenger numbers flowing from the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak. (Full story) Banks are also lower. ANZ Bank is down 1.83 percent to A$18.24 after confirming it was talking to Thai Military Bank about taking a possible stake of up to 20 percent. Taiwan's Taiex is down 0.3 percent to 4538.84, with the market's biggest stock, chip foundry TSMC, down 2.2 percent to T$44.70. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down 1.67 percent to 8659.18 near midday. Hutchison Whampoa and PCCW are both down more than 2 percent . Big bank HSBC is off 0.9 percent to HK$82.75. New Zealand's Top 50 is trading just in the black, despite a 4 percent fall for Air New Zealand. Telecom NZ is flat at NZ$4.72.
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