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Asian markets lower on tech dive
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets are mainly weaker heading into Tuesday afternoon, taking their cue from Wall Street's fall on Monday. Japan is mixed, with the Nikkei 225 down about a third of a percent and the broader Topix showing a slight gain. Japanese banks are showing good gains but leading exporters Sony and Honda are down. South Korea is the biggest decliner, with the Kospi off about 2.4 percent to 575.91 on tech stock weakness. It had been the region's biggest gainer on Monday. Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are all in the red, but their losses are limited to less than 1 percent. New Zealand is going against the trend, with a gain of about 0.8 percent. The generally weaker trend in Asia follows the decline in U.S. markets, where the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 1.29 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.67 percent on Monday. That followed a lackluster reading on U.S. manufacturing for February. (U.S. stock roundup) Japanese banks gainIn Tokyo, the tech-sensitive Nikkei 225 is down 0.32 percent at 8,463.16 at the midday break, after putting on 1.52 percent on Monday for its biggest percentage gain in three weeks. The Topix is up 0.14 percent to 826.77, reflecting gains among the big banks. Mizuho Holdings, the biggest bank by assets, is up 2.41 percent to 102,000 yen. UFJ Holdings is 1.45 percent higher at 140,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is doing best with a gain of 2.67 percent to 269,000 yen. Third-ranked Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group is unchanged at 485,000 yen after setting a price of 475,000 yen for its ordinary share offer once the market closed on Monday. That was a discount of just over 2 percent to its closing price. Among tech-related stocks, computer and chip maker Fujitsu is down 2.36 percent to 373 yen and Kyocera is off 2.21 percent to 6,200 yen. The market's biggest stock, mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo, is 0.88 percent ahead at 230,000 yen. Internet investor Softbank, which jumped more than 10 percent on Monday after it said it would sell part of its stake in Yahoo Japan, is down 1.79 percent to 1,699 yen. Carmaker Honda, another strong gainer on Monday, is down 2.03 percent at 4,340 yen.
In Seoul, the Kospi is 2.4 percent lower near midday Tuesday. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics, which jumped 5.5 percent on Monday to help deliver an overall gain of 2.54 percent, is down more than 3.3 percent to 285,000 won. Steelmaker Posco is one of the heaviest losers, down 7.14 percent to 104,000 won. Big exporter Hyundai Motor is off 2.5 percent to 25,300 won and investor favorite SK Telecom is 2 percent lower to 166,000 won. Shares in Trigem Computer are down 11.15 percent to 4620 won after it said Monday that Korea Thrunet, the Internet service provider in which it holds a major stake, is filing for receivership. (Full story) Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is down 0.47 percent at 9,223.50 near midday, with banking leader HSBC off 0.6 percent to HK$84.50. HSBC and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank reported full-year results Monday, with HSBC posting a 20 percent profit increase. (Full story) Micromotor maker Johnson Electric is up 0.57 percent to HK$8.75 after a report it is jointly bidding for the motors division of GE. (Full story) Further south, Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index is 0.43 percent weaker at 2804.7 in early afternoon trade. Media group News Corp, the market's biggest stock, is 1.73 percent lower at A$10.23. Resources giant BHP Billiton is down 0.64 percent to A$9.26, and the big four banks are also weaker. But telecom leader Telstra is firmer, up 2.19 percent to $A4.20. Across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand, the NZSE Top 50 has gained 0.8 percent near the close to be at 1901.39. Telecom NZ is 2.66 percent higher at NZ$4.24. In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 1.15 percent to 1264.45. Banking group DBS is down 1.6 percent to S$9.30 and Singapore Airlines is down a similar amount to S$9.45.
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