Asia higher on tech enthusiasm
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Sharp is higher Monday on a report it will expand LCD output.
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(CNN) -- Asian stocks are mainly firmer at midday Monday following modest gains on Wall Street Friday. Japan is doing best in the region.
Japanese banking and tech-related issues are higher, following a report that Sharp, the world's biggest maker of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), will spend more than $800 million to boost production capacity next year.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 average is up 1.33 percent at 10,556.11 at the end of the morning session, while the broader Topix is 1.12 percent ahead to 1,029.87, extending the previous session's 0.55 percent gain.
Markets in South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are also firmer, but Hong Kong and Taiwan are in the red.
The dollar is trading slightly weaker at 107.11 yen in Asia Monday afternoon. The Australian dollar is continuing to trade near six-year highs and is quoted at 74.20 U.S. cents.
In a shortened trading session Friday, Wall Street finished slightly higher, with the Dow putting on 0.19 percent to 10,324.67 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 0.2 percent to 1973.14. (Full story)
In Tokyo, there are solid gains for consumer electronics makers such as Sony, Canon and Toshiba. Mitsubishi Electric is up more than 3 percent to 442 yen.
Sharp is 1.52 percent higher to 1672 yen after the Nihon Keizai newspaper said it will invest about 90 billion yen ($839.1 million) in early 2004 to triple the planned production capacity of large LCD panels at its Kameyama plant in western Japan.
The increased spending will bring Sharp's total investment in the facility to around 200 billion yen and will allow the site to produce the equivalent of 360,000 30-inch LCD televisions a month, the paper said.
Automakers Honda and Nissan are up, but Toyota is steady at 3600 yen.
The market's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DocoMo, is 0.4 percent ahead at 235,000 yen.
Big banks are sharply higher, with Mizuho up 4.3 percent to 315,000 yen and MTFG up 4.2 percent. UFJ is about 2.5 percent higher to 500,000 yen.
Misawa Homes is down 6.34 percent at 133 yen after the home builder said Friday it will fall deep into the red in the year to March after taking a 149 billion yen ($1.39 billion) special charge, mainly on its real estate holdings.
In Seoul, the Kospi is up 0.35 percent to 791.63 after a shaky start. That follows release of government data Monday showing South Korea's industrial output fell slightly in November after three months of gains.
Samsung Electronics is down slightly, but big exporter Hyundai Motor is up 3 percent to 49,050 won.
SK Telecom and Shinhan Financial Group are in the red.
LG Card and KEB Credit are both down sharply on worries about the credit card industry.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is up 0.36 percent to 3277.4. Big resources company BHP Billiton is ahead 0.75 percent to A$12.16, and there are smaller gains for Telstra and Qantas. Leading bank NAB has slipped just into the red.
Market heavyweight News Corp was down early, but is 0.08 percent higher to A$11.89 in afternoon trade.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is 0.7 percent lower to 12,362.71, with falls for China Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa.
In Taiwan, the Taiex is off 0.54 percent to 5825.78. The market's biggest stock, chip foundry TSMC, is steady at T$62.00.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index is 0.27 percent ahead to 1734.88, with SingTel up about half a percent.
