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Asia tumbles after Bush speech
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Markets in Asia tumbled to a lower close on Wednesday, with the United States moving closer to war with Iraq. U.S. President George W. Bush said in his State of the Union address that "decisive days" are ahead in the showdown with Saddam Hussein. Bush said the United States was prepared to go it alone to defend its interests if necessary. Bush also said that "crucial hours" lie ahead for U.S. troops in the Gulf. That short timeline spurred investors into selling, despite an overnight gain on Wall Street. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended down 2.28 percent at 8,331.08, doubling its decline in afternoon trade. The broader Topix finished off 1.83 percent to 825.72. Banks sold off heavily, and techs such as Toshiba and Fujitsu were lower after their earnings. South Korea's market again saw the heaviest selling in the region, down almost 3 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed down almost half a percent. Taiwan's market is closed for a week as the island prepares to celebrate the Lunar New Year. New Zealand closed on a slight gain. But Hong Kong closed down almost 1 percent, while Singapore lost 2.75 percent and Malaysia gave up about 1 percent. U.S. markets closed higher on Tuesday ahead of Bush's State of the Union address, with modest gains by the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones industrial average. (Full story) In his speech, heard in much of Asia near midday Wednesday, Bush assured Americans a stronger economy is a paramount objective. (Full story) Toshiba, Fujitsu tumble on earningsIn Tokyo, Toshiba ended down 4.25 percent at 383 yen after Japan's largest chipmaker reported its seventh quarterly loss in a row. (Full story)
The country's largest computer maker, Fujitsu, sold off heavily despite narrowing its net loss for the quarter to December, compared with a year earlier. Fujitsu stock plunged 8.68 percent to 326 yen after it said sales slumped 3.9 percent in the quarter and trimmed its full-year revenue outlook. The largest listing in Tokyo, cell-phone service NTT DoCoMo, gave up early gains to end down 0.43 percent at 233,000 yen. Fellow chip and computer maker NEC fell 6.22 percent to 437 yen on the tech results. The Big Four banks were among the heaviest sellers, with Mizuho Holdings off 4.84 percent to 118,000 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group dropped 4.15 percent to 646,000 yen. Sony falls ahead of strong profitElsewhere on the earnings front, Sony Corp. fell 1.86 percent to 4,760 yen. After the close, the world's largest electronics maker said third-quarter profit almost doubled and hit a record, thanks in part to strong game sales. (Full story)
The yen is trading at 118.04 to the U.S. dollar, which is expected to weaken further if the United States does go to war. That will hurt the profits and sales of Japan's exporters. Honda Motor, which looks to the United States to drive growth, closed down 3.16 percent at 3,980 yen. Japan's second-largest automaker will unveil earnings for October-December on Friday. There were gains for cell-phone No. 2 KDDI, up 0.28 percent to 362,000 yen. Japan's largest steelmaker, JFE Holdings, closed up 5.93 percent at 1,589 yen after it said on Tuesday it would cut eight percent of its workforce, slash production and look to East Asia to help it overcome a sluggish domestic market and competition. HSBC further down in Hong KongHong Kong's Hang Seng index ended off 0.91 percent at 9,240.79. Bank stock HSBC continued its run of losses, down 1.2 percent to HK$82.25 on global economic worries. HSBC is also due to wrap up its acquisition of Household International Inc., which may prompt selling as Household shareholders see their stock swapped for HSBC. Retailer Esprit Holdings fell 2.7 percent to HK$14.35 after consumer confidence fell in the United States. Oil producer CNOOC was one of the few gainers, higher oil prices driving it up 1.53 percent to HK$9.95. News Corp. falls after addressIn Australia, the S&P/ASX200 closed down 0.43 percent to 2,951.7, setting a new six-week low. Sydney stocks went into the afternoon with slight gains but fell after Bush's speech. News Corp., which fell heavily on Tuesday, lost another 1.16 percent to A$11.10, selling off after the address. Troubled insurer and fund manager AMP, which touched a record low Tuesday, recouped a little ground, up 1.3 percent to A$9.49. Mining company BHP Billiton fell 0.1 percent to A$9.03 as it reported earnings. (Full story) Fellow oil producer Santos dropped 0.82 percent to A$6.05 after it came out with its results. Both companies said oil production fell in the quarter and committed to more exploration. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 ended up 0.28 percent at 1,988.71. Its No. 2 listing, wood products producer Carter Holt Harvey, fell 1.12 percent to NZ$1.78 as the company's earnings matched forecasts. (Full story) Seoul selling again the heaviestIn South Korea, the Kospi index fell 2.87 percent to 583.35. Seoul's stocks again suffered the harshest fall in Asia. Its two largest listings were both sharply lower, with Samsung Electronics off 5.05 percent to 291,500 won, its lowest close since October. Cell-phone service SK Telecom dropped 3.89 percent to 173,000 won, with Seoul investors also worried about the continued tension with North Korea. Bush restated that the United States would not be blackmailed by North Korea over its nuclear program. It was a year ago that Bush first labelled the country part of the "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran, though he avoided using the term this time. Steelmaker Posco closed down 2.83 percent to 120,000 won, and carmaker Hyundai Motor dropped 5.14 percent to 24,000 won. In Singapore, the Straits Times index dropped 2.75 percent at 1,302.85 going into the close, while in Malaysia the Kuala Lumpur composite lost 0.92 percent to 665.44. Chartered Semiconductor was down 2.05 percent to S$0.715 after the company said it cut its loss for the third quarter but said recovery would have to wait. (Full story)
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