Mixed response from Asian steelmakers
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The White House says it will closely monitor that foreign steel is not dumped into the U.S. at below market rates.
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TOKYO, Japan -- Asian steel makers were mixed after the Bush administration's decision to drop duties on imported steel, a move that averted a trade war with Europe and Asia.
In Japan, Kobe Steel was trading higher up 1.42 percent at 138 yen early Friday but Nippon Steel and JFE Holding were unchanged at 216 and 2600 yen respectively. South Korea's Posco was losing ground, down 0.33 percent at 149,000 won.
Analysts say the move to life tariffs had been widely expected and was already priced into the market.
In the broader Asian markets, chip stocks in Tokyo were among the losers in early trading after a somber forecast from giant Intel.
Intel said after the market closed that it kept the top end of its revenue forecast unchanged despite recent upbeat views on the strength of the personal computer market.
Shares in Intel fell about three percent, dragging down its U.S. and Japanese peers, such as Advantest Corp, a chip-testing device maker, which fell 1.66 percent to 8,300 yen.
The tech-sensitive Nikkei average was down 0.15 percent at 10,414.19 as of 0023 GMT but the broader Topix index was up 0.14 percent at 1,024.86.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi slumped 1.51 percent to 792.95.
In other markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi slumped 1.51 percent to 792.95 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.06 percent lower at 3231.80. New Zealand NZ50 was down 0.37 percent.
On Wall Street, blue-chip stocks rallied to 18-month highs amid hopes for better earnings in the tech sector.
The Dow closed at its highest level since May last year at 9930.82, up 0.58 percent.
Both the Nasdaq and broader S&P 500 also rose, up 0.44 and 0.47 percent respectively to 1968.80 and 1069.72.
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