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Asia stocks start week with a fall
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian shares are lower on Monday after a decline on Wall Street to end last week. Tokyo's Nikkei average ended the morning session down 0.88 percent at 8,613.46. Outsize gains in banks Mizuho Holdings and UFJ Holdings are propping up the Topix index, down 0.47 percent to 855.18 as the clock ticks over to afternoon. South Korea's market is down almost 1 percent, with Hong Kong off slightly more than that. Australia is trading flat, technically in the black, but there are losses in New Zealand, where the Top 40 has fallen below 2,000. Singapore is also level, showing a slight loss in morning trade, while Taiwan is up one-third of a percent. U.S. markets are out of action on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. On Wall Street on Friday, techs sold off hard, with Nasdaq ending down 3.34 percent at 1,376.19. The Dow Jones industrial average also moved lower, giving up 1.28 percent to 8,586.74. (U.S. roundup) DoCoMo down in TokyoJapanese stocks are following that lead in Tokyo on Monday, where the market's largest listing, NTT DoCoMo, is off 3.15 percent to 246,000 yen. Honda Motor, Japan's second-largest carmaker, is down 2.58 percent to 4,160 yen, while larger rival Toyota Motor is off 1.96 percent to 3,000 yen.
The yen is steady at 118.20 to the U.S. dollar, though, and other exporters such as Sony Corp. are holding up, the world's largest electronics maker unchanged at 5,020 yen. There are large gains for Mizuho Holdings, shooting up 14.16 percent to 129,000 yen, and UFJ Holdings, up 9.35 percent to 152,000 yen, on reports that Mizuho will issue preferred stock to shore up its capital base. (Full story) Resona Holdings, Japan's No. 5 bank, is up 3.23 percent at 64 yen in sympathy. No. 2 bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is ahead 4.08 percent at 383,000 yen. Chipmaker NEC Corp. is down 2.37 percent at 454 yen as the company said President Koji Nishigaki would step down in March, being replaced by executive vice president Akinobu Kanasugi. Hong Kong tracks Wall StreetIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is down 1.07 percent at 9,512.12 in late morning trade, with investors watching for guidance as U.S. stocks move into their second week of results. (Wall Street watching earnings, Iraq) China Mobile, the second-largest listing in Hong Kong, is down 1.82 percent to HK$18.90 after saying user numbers were virtually unchanged in December. Smaller rival China Unicom is off 2.56 percent to HK$5.70. The largest listing on the market, bank stock HSBC, is outperforming the market but still down 0.57 percent at HK$86.75. After the slide on Wall Street, small-motor maker Johnson Electric is off 3.66 percent at HK$9.20. Australia flat on merger dealsIn Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index is basically level, up 0.07 percent at 3,053.8, with mergers propping the market.
Winemaker BRL Hardy is leaping 10.8 percent to A$10.46 after the company accepted a takeover offer from Constellation Brands of the United States. The $1.1 billion bid values BRL Hardy at A$10.50 and will create the largest winery in the world. Mining company MIM is up 1.84 percent to A$1.66 as it continues talks with Xstrata and with Anglo American touted as a second possible bidder for the company. Fund manager Challenger International is surging 14.04 percent to A$1.95 after Kerry Packer's CPH Investment said it is making a bid for the company. Most big caps are a little lower, with Telstra Corp. down 0.43 percent to A$4.64 and BHP Billiton off 1.86 percent to A$9.52. New Zealand's Top 40 closed off 0.72 percent and back below the 2,000 level at 1,994.71. Telecom New Zealand was 2.17 percent to T$4.51. Taiwan trades higher on home playsTaiwan's market is bucking the regional trend, the Taiex sitting up 0.35 percent at 4,924.98 after opening lower.
Local plays are again dominating the buying, which has seen the market rise 13 percent this year alone. China Steel is topping the volume with a 3.11 percent advance to T$23.20. Taiwan Cement is up 4.03 percent to T$15.50. There are declines for most of Taiwan's techs, with chip foundry UMC down 2.25 percent to T$21.70. Bigger rival TSMC is 2.05 percent lower at T$47.80, with Taiwanese regulators reportedly due to finish their questions on Wednesday about the company's application to build a factory in China. Korea slips on PoscoIn South Korea, the Kospi is down 0.92 percent at 630.58 as global economic worries hit home. Steelmaker Posco is down 2.76 percent to 123,500 won after it hit six-month highs last week on its earnings. Samsung Electronics is down 0.6 percent to 318,500 won, tracking declines in U.S. chip stocks. But smaller memory chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor is up 1.72 percent to 295 won after recent declines. Investors will be watching the political situation carefully, with South Korea urging the United States to take the lead in dealing with North Korea over its nuclear program. Chartered down in SingaporeSingapore's Straits Times index is down 0.1 percent to 1,365.42, with Chartered Semiconductor leading the selling. The chip foundry is topping the volume with a 3.70 percent slip to S$0.78. Engineering company Hyflux is up 4.42 percent to S$1.18 in heavy trade after it said a team it heads will build Singapore's first seawater desalination plant, a project worth S$250 million ($145 million). There are also gains for some bank stocks, UOB up 0.87 percent to S$11.60.
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