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Asian stocks breathe new life
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Stocks in Asia are breathing new life on Thursday, a day after U.S. President George W. Bush knocked the wind out of them. Tokyo's Nikkei average ended the morning up 0.56 percent at 8,378.04, back from early losses, though its gains are trimming as the afternoon gets going. The broader Topix index is up 0.15 percent to 826.97 in early afternoon trade. There are also advances of 1.75 percent in South Korea and half a percent in Australia. New Zealand closed lower on a fall in its largest stock. There is also a slight decline for Hong Kong's market, while Singapore is down almost 1 percent. Taiwan's market is closed for a week in honor of the Lunar New Year, observed by many Asian nations over a long weekend. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average inched ahead 0.27 percent to 8,110.71 on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. (Fed stands ground) AOL Time Warner posted a $45 billion fourth-quarter loss. CNN's parent likely saw a $99 billion loss for the full year, a record for a U.S. company. (Full story) Nasdaq closed up 1.18 percent at 1,358.06, as the earnings season continues. (Earnings roundup) Sony moves ahead on strong earningsIn Tokyo, Sony Corp. is up 0.84 percent to 4,800 yen after the company posted a record third-quarter profit thanks to strong PlayStation 2 and DVD sales. (Full story) Cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo is climbing 2.15 percent to 238,000 yen, with rebounds in some of the techs that sold off heavily on Wednesday.
NEC is up 0.46 percent to 438 yen ahead of the company's earnings later Thursday. Canon Inc., which also reports after the bell on Thursday, is up 2.93 percent to 4,210 yen. The yen is weaker at 118.64 to the U.S. dollar. Hong Kong choppy ahead of breakIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is down 0.17 percent at 9,224.62 heading towards noon. The market is choppy, with slightly more gainers than losers on the Hang Seng. Hong Kong markets will close Friday for the Lunar New Year, reopening on Tuesday. Bank stock HSBC appears to be heading for two straight weeks of declines, off 0.30 percent to HK$82.00. Hong Kong's largest listing has been battered both by the poor world economic picture and the prospect of its buyout of Household International leading to a flood of stock on the market. U.S.-oriented stocks benefited from the Fed leaving U.S. rates unchanged, a signal the central bank doesn't think the economy is getting any worse. Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings is up 3.32 percent to HK$14.80, but motor maker Johnson Electric is back from early gains and flat at HK$8.85. There are also advances for oil producer CNOOC, one of the few beneficiaries of the tension in the Persian Gulf. It is up 0.50 percent to HK$10.00 on the promise of higher oil prices. That is driving down airline Cathay Pacific, off 0.43 percent to HK$11.55. Legend Holdings is up 1.74 percent to HK$2.925 after China's largest computermaker posted a 25 percent increase in its third-quarter profit. (Full story) U.S. plays up in SydneyIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index is up 0.41 percent to 2,963.8 in early afternoon trade. News Corp. is leading the charge with a 3.42 percent rise to A$11.48.
Bionic ear maker Cochlear is up 1.55 percent to A$37.98, as U.S.-oriented stocks get a boost from Wall Street's move. Oil Search is up 4.69 percent to A$0.67 after it sold its 31 percent interest in a Papua New Guinea nickel project to a government-owned company. But resources stocks are generally weaker, with slight declines in BHP Billiton and MIM Holdings. New Zealand's Top 40 closed down 0.64 percent to 1,975.95, with Telecom New Zelaand off 1.11 percent to NZ$4.47. No. 2 stock Carter Holt Harvey is steady at NZ$1.76, after falling Wednesday as it reported earnings roughly in line with analyst estimates. (Full story) Korea claws way backSouth Korea's Kospi index is up 1.75 percent to 593.57, the strongest gains in Asia, after a 2.75 percent tumble saw it fall the most as Asia sold off Wednesday. (Bush prompts Asian selloff) Chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor is up 4.55 percent to 230 won and topping the volume as usual. The company said its creditors have approved its self-designed rescue plan involving selling noncore businesses. (Full story) Seoul's two largest stocks are advancing, with Samsung Electronics up 1.03 percent to 294,500 won and SK Telecom leaping 5.49 percent to 182,500 won. Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the cell-phone service after it lost one-fifth of its stock value due to disappointing fourth-quarter earnings. Department store chain Shinsegae is up 2.22 percent to 161,500 won, with consumers expected to make the most of the Lunar New Year to do some shopping. Singapore techs dipSingapore's Straits Times index is down 0.87 percent to 1,291.55, the only significant drop in Asia. Creative Technology is down 5.00 percent to S$11.40 after it said it would delist from Nasdaq as it reported earnings. (Full story) Chartered Semiconductor is down 0.70 percent to S$0.71, having opened higher as it trimmed its quarterly loss. Malaysian stocks are flat, the Kuala Lumpur composite up 0.02 percent to 665.55.
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