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Asian stocks open mixed
TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese stocks opened slightly firmer on Thursday with select blue chips such as Toyota Motor Corp gaining ground, but other Asian markets were mixed after U.S. shares rose for the first day in three on bargain-hunting. The Nikkei average was up 0.3 percent to 8475.28, and the broader TOPIX index put on 0.33 percent at 825.55, in early trading. Toyota, Japan's biggest auto maker, was up 0.71 percent at 2,855 yen, but top brokerage Nomura Holdings Inc, often seen as a gauge of market sentiment, was down 0.43 percent at 1,375 yen. "The rise in New York yesterday looks like a technical rebound in a downtrend," said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of equity information at Shinko Securities. "As for the domestic front, we have no great factor either to buy or sell." Investors are reacting to company-specific news, such as that on struggling builder Hazama Corp, given limited upside room in a market under pressure from heightened global tensions. Hazama climbed 13 percent to 26 yen after medium-sized builder Ando Corp said on Thursday it is considering taking a 10 percent stake in Hazama's construction arm when it splits off from Hazama's less profitable real estate unit. Ando was down 2.27 percent at 129 yen. In South Korea, the Kospi continued to get hit as security fears mount, the index continuing a woeful week by sliding 0.76 percent to 556 not long after the opening. Australian investors were a touch more upbeat however, lifting the S&P/ASX 200 index 0.35 percent to 2785.66 shortly before midday. The widely held telco Telstra firmed A2c to A$4.17 but flagship carrier Qantas shed A2c to $A3.18. In New Zealand, the main index was moribund, trading just 0.1 percent higher at 1899.32 in afternoon business while in Singapore the Straits Times index was weaker, down 0.41 percent to 1260.35 shortly after its opening. Reuters contributed to this report.
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