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Asia continues to slide
TOKYO, Japan -- Asian stocks are tumbling by midday Monday, the last day of Japan's financial year, as continued uncertainty over the war in Iraq drags down investor confidence. As well, the flu-like SARS virus that is sweeping through the region is having a big impact on stocks of Asian airlines such as Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Taiwan's China Airlines. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average has finished the morning session 2.5 percent lower at 8074.10, while the broader Topix index is down 2.16 percent at 800.24. The market's biggest stock, mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo, is among the heaviest losers, down 4.2 percent to 228,000 yen. Banks and big exporters also have fallen sharply. South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia are all in the red, with Seoul's Kospi dropping 2.7 percent and Singapore down 2.9 percent. Of concern to South Korea, too, is the release Monday of the latest inflation figures, showing the highest rate in 18 months. (Full story) Along with the usual end of financial year jitters, investors in Japan are digesting weaker than expected industrial production figures. Data released Monday shows Japan's industrial production fell 1.7 percent in February from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was below analysts' expectations of a fall of about 0.9 percent. (Full story) The softer start for Asian markets on Monday follows declines in Europe and the U.S. last Friday, when the Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.68 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped more than 1 percent. (Full story) In Japan, the declines are broad-based, with consumer electronics leader Sony down 3.18 percent to 4260 yen and big carmaker Toyota off 3.74 percent to 2700 yen. Tech-related stock NEC is down almost 6 percent to 394 yen. Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Kyocera and Sanyo likewise are sharply lower. Big banks are also softer, with UFJ showing the heaviest fall, off 4.03 percent to 119,000 yen. SMFG is down almost 4 percent to 217,000 yen and MTFG has slipped 3.65 percent to 449,000 yen. South Korea lower
In South Korea, the Kospi is 2.77 percent lower at 540.92. Among blue chips, big chipmaker Samsung Electronics is posting the heaviest fall, down 5.54 percent to 290,000 won. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor is down 4.67 percent to 24,500 won and mobile phone company SK Telecom is 1.28 percent lower at 154,500 won. Shinhan Bank is down 2.38 percent to 10,250 won after announcing its KRIF joint venture fund with Australia's Macquarie Bank had made its first toll road purchase. (Full story) Korean Air Lines is 5.27 percent lower to 9710 won on jitters about inflation and falling passenger numbers from the SARS virus and security concerns. (Full story) In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is down about 0.23 percent to 2891.1. Movements are muted, however, with Telstra flat and big bank NAB just in the black. The market's biggest stock, media group News Corp., is down about 1.8 percent to A$10.83 after announcing a share investment agreement with Liberty Media last Friday. (Full story) Insurer and funds manager AMP is on the decline again, dipping 4.62 percent to A$7.22. But gold stocks such as Newcrest, AngloGold and Placer Dome are sharply higher. New Zealand's Top 50 is up 0.21 percent to 1923.28, with market heavyweight Telecom NZ up 0.67 percent to NZ$4.48. In Taiwan, the Taiex is down 2.94 percent to 4345.81 as techs follow their U.S. counterparts down. Chip foundry TSMC, the market's biggest stock, is off 3.15 percent to T$43.00. Rival UMC is down 3.47 percent to T$19.50. China Airlines is showing one of the heaviest falls on concerns about the SARS virus, and is down 7 percent to T$12.00. In Singapore, the Straits Times is also on the slide, down almost 3 percent to 1279.05. Singapore Airlines, another carrier hard-hit by the flu-like virus sweeping the region, is 3.3 percent lower to S$8.75. Big banks DBS, UOB and OCBC are also weaker. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is about 1.9 percent lower at 8695 near midday. Banking leader HSBC is 1.22 percent lower at HK$80.75. Airline Cathay Pacific is down 5.9 percent to HK$9.60. Reuters contributed to this report.
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