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Asia weaker as Japan rally ends
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian markets closed mainly lower on Thursday, mirroring earlier weakness in the United States and Europe. A five-day rally in Japan ran out of steam, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 average finishing down 0.96 percent to 8031.55. That follows Wednesday's 0.32 percent rise to 8109.77, the Nikkei's highest closing level since April 8. The broader Topix index lost 0.99 percent to 814.74. There were falls too in Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand, with Taipei's Taiex showing the biggest loss, down 1.98 percent to 4191.25. But Singapore bucked the trend closing up 0.8 percent, boosted among others by a strong result from SingTel. Markets in South Korea, Hong Kong, and China were closed Thursday for public holidays. In Tokyo, Japanese consumer electronics leader Sony and other big exporters gave ground after Wall Street slipped on Wednesday.The technology-fueled Nasdaq lost 1 percent to 1506.76 while the Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.32 percent to 8560.63 (Full story) A fall in the U.S. dollar to a 10-month low against the yen of 116.64 also weighed on the market. Sony closed 2.53 percent lower at 2890 yen, Canon dropped more than 3 percent to 4760 yen and Mitsubishi Electric was down 1.52 percent to 323 yen. Another tech bellwether, Advantest, finished 1.69 percent weaker at 4070 yen. Among automakers, Honda showed the steepest decline with a fall of 2.43 percent to 4010 yen. Nissan was down 2.23 percent to 920 yen. Toyota slipped about 1 percent to 2755 yen. After the close it posted a record profit for the third straight year, confirming its status as the world's most profitable carmaker. (Full story) The Japanese market's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, closed 2.6 percent lower at 262,000 yen. It said after the close its parent pre-tax profit for the financial year that ended in March was 633 billion yen ($5.4 billion). Rival KDDI dropped 4.76 percent to 380,00 yen after reports it will unveil new broadband services later this year. Game software maker Sega finished down 4.66 percent to 675 yen after confirming it will scrap its planned merger with Sammy Corp. (Full story) Some of the big banks showed strength, with solid gains for MTFG, SMFG and Mizuho. But UFJ was flat at 106,000 yen. A Japanese government meeting later Thursday discussed proposals to boost the stock market, which fell to 20-year lows last week. Australia weakerIn Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed down 0.66 percent to 2956.2. Flag-carrier Qantas Airways rose 2.96 percent to A$3.13 after clarifying the SARS-related profit warning it issued on Wednesday that prompted a 5 percent fall. In response to a query from the Australian Stock Exchange, Qantas said Thursday it could miss earlier pre-tax profit forecasts by up to 30 percent because of the passenger downturn. (Full story) Resources leader BHP Billiton recovered from an early fall to finish flat at A$8.65 after posting third-quarter earnings a day earlier. (Full story) Westpac Bank slipped 3.63 percent to A$15.42 after releasing interim earnings Thursday morning. (Full story) SingTel was up 1.55 percent to A$1.31 after posting full-year results in which its Optus unit in Australia delivered its first profit. (Full story) In its home market of Singapore, SingTel was up 0.7 percent at S$1.45. Gains for DBS Group and Singapore Airlines also pushed the Straits Times higher, closing the day up 10.39 points, to end at 1,317.91. In Taiwan, chip foundry and market heavyweight TSMC fell 2.1 percent to T$46.70. Its smaller rival UMC ended 2 percent lower at T$19.90, while industrial leader Formosa Plastic was off 1.86 percent to T$42.10. New Zealand's Top 50 finished flat, off just 0.01 percent to 1977.86. There were further falls for Air New Zealand, while Telecom NZ was flat at NZ$4.73. The market's No. 2 stock, Carter Colt Harvey, finished down more than 3 percent to NZ$1.59.
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