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Asia slides on security fears
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets are sharply lower Wednesday as they head into afternoon trade, with war fears and further falls in the U.S. weighing on investors. South Korea is continuing a volatile week, the Kospi index dipping more than 2.5 percent in the morning session as security concerns rattle the market. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average is down 0.27 percent to 8,457.02 while the broader Topix index is off 0.54 percent at 823.54. Japanese carmakers and tech-related exporters such as Sony, Fujitsu and Hitachi are down sharply, but the big banks are continuing to regain some of the ground lost in recent days. Elsewhere in the region, Taiwan is down about 1.4 percent, Hong Kong and Australia are both about 1 percent weaker and Singapore is down about 0.15 percent. New Zealand is again moving against the trend, with its new Top 50 index up almost half a percent. Asian markets generally are taking their lead from Wall Street's poor performance, where war fears and weak consumer spending pushed the Dow Jones industrial average down 1.7 percent on Tuesday to 7,704.87, its lowest level in almost five months. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite also dipped, losing 0.95 percent to 1,307.77. (Full story) Fujitsu, down 3.76 percent to 358 yen, and Hitachi, down 3.37 percent to 488 yen, are among the heaviest tech losers in Tokyo. NEC is also more than 3 percent lower. Consumer electronics leader Sony is down 0.89 percent to 4440 yen, close to a 16-month low. Canon is down a similar amount to 4220 yen and Kyocera is off 2.07 percent to 6140 yen. Among carmakers, Nissan is showing the heaviest fall, down 4.18 percent to 848 yen. Honda is off 2.75 percent to 4240 yen and Toyota is 1.22 percent lower at 2830 yen. Industrial stock Nippon Steel is among the most active issues and is down 4.55 percent to 147 yen. The big four banks, Mizuho, UFJ, MTFG and SMFG are all between 1 and 2 percent higher, after showing heavy falls in recent days ahead of their March 31 book closing. MTFG, which priced its global share offering on Monday at 475,000 yen, is up 1.82 percent to 503,000 yen. Security concerns
In Seoul, security concerns continue to weigh on the market, with the Kospi sliding to 561.19, a fall of 2.67 percent. Steel giant Posco is down 5.65 percent to 98,600 won and big exporter Hyundai Motor is off 6.92 percent to 23,550 won. Samsung Electronics, the market's biggest stock, is down 3.33 percent to 275,500 won. Trigem Computer, the main shareholder in Korea Thrunet with a 31 percent stake, is down another 8.43 percent to 4075 won after Thrunet filed for court receivership. Trigem is now down almost 45 percent for the year. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is down about 1 percent to 9085.86, with banking giant HSBC about 0.3 percent lower at HK$83.75. Troubled telco PCCW has slipped below HK$5 for the first time, down 2.48 percent to HK$4.925. Mobile twins China Mobile and China Unicom are both down more than 3 percent. In Taiwan, the Taiex is at 4436.63, with chip foundry TSMC, the market's biggest stock, down 3.7 percent to T$41.80. In Australia, investors are absorbing a drought-fueled drop in fourth-quarter gross domestic product. The S&P/ASX 200 is off about 1 percent to 2785.2, with media giant News Corp down 4.1 percent to A$9.83 and telco Telstra 0.48 percent weaker at A$4.16. Resources stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are also falling, as are big banks NAB ad CBA. But gold stocks are firmer on war fears. New Zealand's NZSE Top 50 index is 0.47 percent higher at 1910.33 near the close, with Telecom NZ putting on 0.94 percent to NZ$4.29 and Air NZ up 1.96 percent to NZ$0.52. Singapore's Straits Times index is down 0.15 percent to 1267.08, with big bank DBS off 1.6 percent to S$9.25. Reuters contributed to this report.
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