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Stocks in Asia slip again
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks are slipping slightly as the clock ticks over into Friday afternoon trade. Japan's Nikkei average ended the morning down 0.34 percent to 8,455.35, while the Topix is lower for a second day, off 0.23 percent to 838.06. South Korea is making the most dramatic move, down almost 3 percent as tech stocks plunge. Taiwan is also heavily lower, with losses approaching 2 percent and continuing Thursday's hefty decline. The rest of the region is steady, though, with Singapore trading slightly in the black. There are gains of a quarter of a percent in Hong Kong and just over half a percent in Australia. New Zealand closed down 1 percent. U.S. stocks were split on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 0.7 percent to 7,929.30 while Nasdaq gained 0.02 percent to 1,301.73. (Full story) Japan drifts on tensionIn Tokyo on Friday, the market is unable to get any traction as investors continue to fret about possible war.
NTT DoCoMo is down 0.43 percent to 229,000 yen, with rival Japan Telecom off 1.64 percent to 360,000 yen. Investors continue to buy into defensive plays, driving Japan Tobacco up 2.50 percent to 738,000 yen. There are telecom gains, with KDDI up 0.54 percent to 369,000 yen and NTT ahead 1.24 percent to 407,000 yen. Toyota Motor is down 0.51 percent to 2,950 yen, as U.S. militancy toward Iraq threatens to hit American consumer confidence. Toyota and its peers are expanding their U.S. truck production to capitalize on one of their strongest growth markets. (Full story) Banks are also down, Mizuho Holdings falling 1.61 percent to 122,000 yen, as banks continue to sell stock ahead of the end of the Japanese financial year in March. The yen is stead at 119.69 to the U.S. dollar, with currency analysts still predicting the dollar will weaken if war breaks out. Hong Kong gets a break
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng is up 0.24 percent to 9,147.87, recovering from a lower open. HSBC is inching ahead 0.31 percent to HK$82.00. Oil producer CNOOC continues to be one of the main gainers from possible conflict in the Gulf, putting on 0.95 percent to HK$10.65. The prospect of higher fuel prices has hurt airlines. But bargain hunters are stepping in to buy Cathay Pacific on Friday, pushing Hong Kong's flagship carrier up 0.90 percent to HK$11.20. Telecom company PCCW is down 1.65 percent to HK$5.95 after the company denied it had made a bid to buy British telecom Cable & Wireless, then confirmed it had approached C&W for talks only to be rebuffed. Australia showing biggest gainsAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 index is up 0.59 percent to 2,903.1 in early afternoon, the largest gains in the region. Australia's economy is relatively insulated and reliant on raw materials and agriculture, which means it will likely hold up well if war does hit the Middle East. Wesfarmers is ahead 3.28 percent to A$28.02 as it regains some of the ground lost from the country suffering through a severe drought. Mining company and oil producer Rio Tinto is up 1.06 percent to A$33.30, with gains of 2.09 percent to A$9.24 for industry peer BHP Billiton. Food group Goodman Fielder is up 1.12 percent to A$1.80 after it agreed to publish corrective advertising and a supplementary statement over its comments on a hostile takeover offer from smaller Burns Philp. There are declines of 1 percent for Coles Myer, Australia's biggest retailer, after analysts downgraded its earnings. New Zealand's Top 40 closed down 1.17 percent to 1,935.84 as the market returned from a holiday. Retailer The Warehouse plunged another 5.16 percent to NZ$5.88 after disappointing earnings earlier this week. Telecom New Zealand fell 0.67 percent to NZ$5.88. Taiwan continues tumbleTaiwan's Taiex is down 1.72 percent to 4,750.68, having fallen 3.6 percent on Thursday when trading resumed after a week-long break.
Tech stocks are suffering, with QSI off 4.66 percent to T$184.00 and Mediatek down 1.53 percent to T$258.00. Chip foundry TSMC is down the daily 7 percent limit again, leaving Taiwan's largest listing at T$41.50, while smaller rival UMC is down 3.5 percent at T$19.30. China Steel, one of the few gainers on Thursday, is lower on its second day of action after the Lunar New Year. It is giving back 2.49 percent to T$23.50. Investors say the market should steady once overseas investors get their selling out of their system. Korea sets selling paceSouth Korea's Kospi index is down 2.89 percent to 572.44, the heaviest losses in Asia. Traders had been watching for the market to break below support levels of program buying that was keeping the market at 580. Samsung Electronics, the largest listing, is down 4.42 percent to 270,500 won after competitor Micron Technologies tumbled 6 percent in U.S. trading. Cell-phone service and No. 2 listing SK Telecom is down even more dramatically, lurching 6.45 percent lower to 159,500 won after the company reaffirmed its controversial spending plan. (Full story) Retailer Shinsegae is off 5.10 percent to 149,000 won, proving the selling isn't restricted to the tech sector. Singapore just above waterSingapore's Straits Times index is up 0.04 percent to 1,288.15, with gains for Singapore Press Holdings. The media group is up 1.12 percent to S$18.10, while bank stock OCBC is up 1.12 percent to S$9.00. There are falls for DBS Group, off 0.99 percent to S$10.00, and Singapore Airlines, down 1.04 percent to S$9.55. SingTel, which reported a better than expected third-quarter result Friday morning, is unchanged at S$1.33. (Full story) Malaysian stocks are lower, with the Kuala Lumpur composite down 0.56 percent to 661.25.
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