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Weak dollar sends Asia down
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian markets have closed lower Thursday, with exporters continuing to take a hit from the weak U.S. dollar. Japan posted one of the day's heaviest falls, the Nikkei 225 slipping 1.22 percent to be close to a 20-year low seen last October. South Korea lost almost 1 percent and Singapore is down about 1.5 percent heading towards the close. Taiwan showed a more modest fall of about half a percent, while Australia ended unchanged from the three-year low it reached on Wednesday. New Zealand also ended flat, down just 0.02 percent after its central bank left interest rates on hold, as expected. In Tokyo, Japanese stocks opened slightly firmer but then slipped throughout the day as exporters bore the brunt of the dollar's decline. It was quoted at 117.32 yen late in the Asian trading day. A weaker dollar eats into the profits of Asian exporters, for whom the United States is a major market. The Nikkei 225 average finished the day down 1.22 percent to 8369.15, close to the 20-year low of 8197.22 seen last October. The broader Topix index was off 0.8 percent to 816.22. Big Japanese exporters were well into the red. Sony lost 2.26 percent to 4330 yen and carmaker Honda fell 4.19 percent to 4120 yen. Nissan and Toyota also weakened. In the tech sector, Fujitsu lost 3.3 percent to 352 yen. Hitachi, NEC, Toshiba and Kyocera also were down. Among the big banks, UFJ was flat and Resona Holdings posted a good gain of 1.8 percent. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group was up 0.4 percent to 500,000 yen but Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gave up early gains to finish 1.84 percent in the red at 267,000 yen. One of the day's best gainers was All Nippon Airways, up 3.07 percent to 235 yen. Fast-food chain McDonald's Japan was 0.58 percent higher at 1720 yen after the company announced Wednesday that founder Den Fujita would step down as chairman and CEO on March 28. (Full story) Mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo fell 1.76 percent to 223,000 yen as part of a general decline among telcos. Banyu Pharmaceutical ended down 8.89 percent to 1240 yen after industry sources said a group of shareholders who had opposed a $1.62 billion takeover bid by Merck capitulated. (Full story) Wall Street gains
The signs of weakness in Asia were in contrast to Wall Street's performance Wednesday, where both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq composite posted gains. The Dow rose almost 1 percent and the Nasdaq was up about half a percent. (Full story) In South Korea, the Kospi continued to suffer from security fears on the Korean peninsula. The index is having a woeful week, and lost another 0.88 percent to 555.33 Thursday. It is the worst performer in Asia so far this year, off about 11.5 percent. Hyundai Motor fell again, off 5.56 percent to 22,100 won, while telco KT Corp ended down 2.17 percent to 42,800 won. SK Telecom was up slightly to 163,000 won but has still lost 28.8 percent for the year on concerns about allegations of illegal stock trading involving SK Group units. SK Group chairman Son Kil-seung was called in by prosecutors for questioning on Wednesday. (Full story) Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics ended flat at 276,000 won. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is about a third of a percent lower at 9080.32 near the close. The market is pondering the 2003 Budget address, in which Financial Secretary Antony Leung said corporate and personal taxes will rise. (Full story) Big bank HSBC is down 0.6 percent at HK$83.25. Airline Cathay Pacific fell 4.27 percent to HK$11.20 after reporting strong earnings on Wednesday. (Full story) In Taiwan, the Taiex was down 0.47 percent to 4397.44 as techs looked for guidance. The market's biggest stock, chip foundry TSMC, matched the fall, down 0.48 percent to T$41.40. Chunghwa Telecom, which saw a proposed sell-off falter again on Wednesday, was down about 1 percent to T$51.50. (Full story) Australian investors were upbeat initially, lifting the S&P/ASX 200 index into the black. But the mood turned and the index finished unchanged at 2776.0. The market's biggest stock, News Corp, put on 0.31 percent to A$9.82, and big banks were higher too after a poor day Wednesday. But Telstra dipped 0.96 percent to A$4.11 and resources stocks BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto also fell. Gaming company Tabcorp eased half a percent to A$9.91 after announcing Wednesday it would take over casino operator Jupiters. (Full story) In New Zealand, the new NZSE Top 50 index slipped just 0.02 percent to 1909.95. Telecom NZ rose 0.7 percent to NZ$4.32 and Air New Zealand was unchanged. In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 1.41 percent to 1247.54 heading towards the close. All of the big banks are weaker, as are SingTel and Singapore Press.
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