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Asian stocks stay in the red
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian markets are weaker by midday Friday, following declines in the United States and Europe over concerns about the war in Iraq. Taiwan is showing the biggest fall, down about 1 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average is down 0.52 percent to 8325.33 at the midday break, while the broader Topix index is 0.21 percent lower at 821.70. Despite the decline, the Nikkei is still up nearly 3 percent since the start of the week. But blue chip exporters such as Sony, Canon and Toyota are under pressure. In South Korea, the Kospi is recovering from early falls to be virtually flat, down 0.1 percent at 548.68. Hong Kong likewise is trading in a narrow range, down 0.1 percent to 8863.20. The Straits Times index in Singapore is off about 0.7 percent and New Zealand's Top 50 is down about 0.24 percent to 1909.53. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is trading just in the black, despite shares in carrier Qantas tumbling more than 10 percent after it announced a 20 percent cutback in services because of Iraq and the SARS virus scare. The falls in Asia come after weaker performances in Europe and the United States on Thursday as investors worried about how long the war in Iraq may continue. In Europe, the FTSE lost 1.7 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 2.3 percent. (Full story) In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average slipped about a third of a percent to 8201.45, while the Nasdaq composite eased 0.23 percent to 1384.25. (Full story) In Tokyo, big exporter Sony is down 0.67 percent at 4460 yen and Canon is off 1.13 percent to 4380 yen. Tech-related stocks such as NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Toshiba are also in the red. NTT DoCoMo, the market's biggest stock, is 1.27 percent higher at 239,000 yen. Japan's largest carmaker, Toyota Motor, is down 1.75 percent to 2805 yen, while rival Honda Motor is off 1.89 percent to 4160 yen. Most of the big banks are also in the red, with Mizuho Holdings down 2.77 percent to 98,200 yen and UFJ Holdings 2.42 percent lower at 121,000 yen. South Korea lower
Among South Korean stocks, there are falls for LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK Telecom. Samsung Electronics, the market's biggest stock, is flat at 298,500 won. Gainers include telco KT Corp and big steelmaker Posco, but moves in either direction are muted. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is just in the red near midday. Big bank HSBC is about a third of a percent higher at HK$81.75 and other banks are mostly unchanged. Mobile phone leader China Mobile is down 1.83 percent to HK$16.10. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is up 0.12 percent at 2896.0. The market focus is the sharp decline for Qantas, which hit an 18-month low of A$2.89 Friday morning after warning it would not meet its full-year profit target. By early afternoon, Qantas was 10.2 percent lower at A$2.98. (Full story) News Corp, the market's biggest stock, is up 3 percent to A$11.07 after announcing a $500 million share purchase deal with big investor Liberty Media. ( Full story) Other blue chips such as Telstra, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and National Australia Bank are lower. Retailer Coles Myer is just in the black, as is rival Woolworths and big brewer Foster's Group. In Taiwan, where the Taiex is down 0.9 percent to 4473.51, big chip foundry TSMC is 2.45 percent lower to T$43.80. Other tech stocks UMC, Acer and Hon Hai are also trading in the red. In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 0.58 percent to 1306.09. Carrier Singapore Airlines is 3.72 percent lower at S$9.05 after revealing one of its flight attendants had been diagnosed with the deadly flu-like virus SARS. (Full story)
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