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Biggest markets gain in broad selling
By Alex Frew McMillan
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Tokyo stocks closed up almost half a percent on Monday, with Hong Kong adding almost 1 percent. New Zealand also moved forward. But there were declines for the rest of the region, with Taiwan's market down almost 2 percent. Australia, Malaysia and Singapore all posted modest losses, while South Korea recovered to close basically flat. In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed up 0.44 percent to 8,484.93, with telecoms and stocks paying high dividends attracting buyers. The Topix advanced 0.43 percent to 842.69, both benchmarks doubling their gains in afternoon going. Japan's markets will be closed on Tuesday for National Foundation Day. They reopen Wednesday. War fears continue to cloud markets while Taiwan continued its spate of selling after its long New Year break. U.S. stocks slipped on Friday, despite a higher open thanks to improved jobless figures. But investors were spooked after the government raised its terrorist attack-threat level, and the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.82 percent at 7,864.23. Nasdaq fell 1.48 percent to 1,282.47. (U.S. roundup) DoCoMo, rivals up in JapanIn Tokyo on Monday, stocks were boosted by pension-fund buying and advances in telecom stocks. Cell-phone leader NTT DoCoMo, Tokyo's largest listing, closed up 1.72 percent at 236,000 yen after the company said it is unlikely to see any more writedowns on its international investments this business year.
Parent NTT moved ahead 2.2 percent to 419,000 yen, while rival KDDI was up 0.82 percent to 371,000 yen. Bank stock Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group gave up 1.12 percent to 619,000 yen after it said Friday it will raise as much as $3.4 billion in a secondary stock offering to boost its capital base. On the dividend front, Nisshin Steel Co. drew investors with the company on track to start paying a dividend again this year. It was the second most-active stock with a rise of 5.41 percent to 78 yen. Most techs and major exporters made it into the black by the end of the day, one exception being Toyota. The country's biggest carmaker fell 0.34 percent to 2,965 yen. The yen is trading a little weaker at 120.44 to the U.S. dollar as European trade starts, with analysts still expecting the buck to weaken if war breaks out with Iraq. Hong Kong soars in afternoon tradeIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng finished up 0.89 percent to 9,232.14, surging in afternoon trade.
Bank stock HSBC, Hong Kong's largest listing, was up 0.91 percent to HK$82.75, attracting buyers after heavy selling in recent weeks. Bank of East Asia climbed 0.68 percent to HK$14.70 ahead of earnings on Tuesday. Hutchison Whampoa moved up 2.13 percent to HK$48.00 after the conglomerate said it would start cell-phone service in the booming Thai market. (Full story) Affiliate Cheung Kong Holdings was up 1.88 percent to HK$48.80. Telecom stock PCCW was suspended before the start of trade, with the Hong Kong stock exchange requesting that the company clarify conflicting statements over its interest in Cable & Wireless. The company said it will not pursue a buyout of Britain's No. 2 phone company. It also denied approaching Japan Telecom. (Full story) News down in SydneyAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 0.54 percent to 2,890.2, just above the three-year low it set last week. News Corp. was down 0.8 percent to A$10.90, the media group recovering in late going, while telecom Telstra dropped 1.6 percent to a five-year low of A$4.30.
Retailer Coles Myer rose 1.7 percent to A$6.16, coming back from weakness after receiving earnings downgrades as it predicted double-digit growth this year. Commonwealth Bank fell 0.8 percent to A$26.25 ahead of earnings on Wednesday. The central Reserve Bank of Australia noted that Australia is set for growth in consumer and business spending. But it said the economy is still susceptible to overseas weakness. (Full story) New Zealand's Top 40 closed up 0.62 percent at 1,947.92, with gains for The Warehouse, up 1.36 percent to NZ$5.96, and Telecom New Zealand, up 0.90 percent to NZ$4.49. Taiwan posts Asia's biggest lossTaiwan's Taiex suffered the heaviest losses in Asia, down 1.93 percent to 4,643.87, still hurting after its week-long break for Lunar New Year. Techs are the main source of the downward pressure, with chip foundry TSMC off 3.10 percent to T$40.70. Rival UMC was down 2.03 percent to T$19.30. The two listings make up around 12 percent of the market. Screenmaker Au Optronics is defying the general weakness, up 2.13 percent to T$24.00 and topping the volume. China Steel gave up early gains to close flat at T$23.20. Korea claws back to levelSouth Korea's Kospi closed basically flat, down 0.04 percent to 577.25, recovering after morning losses. Chip and electronics maker Samsung Electronics fell 1.64 percent to 269,500 won as chip prices ease. Retailer Shinsegae made back most of its early losses to end down 0.96 percent at 155.500 won, but there were also falls for fixed-line phone company KT Corp., down 1.6 percent to 43,700 won. Steelmaker Posco drove ahead 2.04 percent to 125,000 won, with steel prices expected to rise. Singapore, Malaysia downSingapore's Straits Times index ended down 0.21 percent to 1,282.73, with weakness for all three main banks. DBS Group was down 0.50 percent to S$9.95, UOB was off 0.95 percent to S$10.40, and OCBC gave 0.56 percent to S$8.80. There were gains for Singapore Airlines, up 1.58 percent to S$9.65, and SingTel, up 1.52 percent to S$1.34 after strong earnings last week. (Full story) Malaysia's market was also lower, the Kuala Lumpur composite falling 0.42 percent to 658.46.
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