Nikkei shutters down on Olympus
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan's Nikkei stock average dived almost 2 percent in morning trade Tuesday after camera maker Olympus Corp's earnings outlook disappointed investors, dragging down other tech issues.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell as low as 1.99 percent to 10,562.76 before rising slightly but is still off 1.71 percent at 10,592.63 in mid-morning trade.
The Nikkei had risen as high as 10,800.78 soon after the opening.
The broader Topix index was down 0.92 percent at 1,039.80.
Shares in Olympus tumbled 9.71 percent to 2,000 yen after the company lowered its full-year profit forecast by 5.7 percent because of the strong yen and weaker-than-expected digital camera sales.
Olympus is the world's third-biggest digital camera brand after Sony Corp and Canon Inc.
Sony lost 1.42 percent of its value after announcing a $1 billion initiative to develop more sophisticated silicon chips for consumer electronics.(Sony plans)
Sharp Corp, the world's biggest maker of liquid crystal display televisions, dropped 3.16 percent to 1,836 yen as investors maximised profits from two days of rises.
Sharp posted a 27 percent rise in quarterly profit Monday thanks to strong sales of LCD TVs and camera-equipped mobile phones.
The market was largely unaffected by reports that Pioneer has agreed to buy NEC's plasma display panels (PDP) business for 40 billion yen ($379 million).
Pioneer, which holds about 10 percent of the global PDP market, will become the world's top maker of PDP panels following the acquisition if the deal goes through.
Most Asian markets also moved down as profit-taking got under way.
South Korea's Kopsi shed 1.47 percent to stand at 842.30 in early trade.
Two victims were Samsung, which dropped 2.26 percent, and Hyundai, losing 3.25 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times index, closed for Muslim holidays Monday, began in negative fashion, shedding 1.45 percent. Singapore Airlines fell 1.77 percent to S$10.80 and DBS Group Holdings took a 1.95 percent tumble by midday.
The Taiex displayed similar sentiment, losing 1.42 percent of its value to be at 6230.50 by midday.
Bellwethers Taiwan Semiconductor lost 1.54 percent to stand at T$63.50 and United Micro Electronic was down 1.94 percent at T$30.40.
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was 0.08 percent lower at 3272.3 in early trade.
The bank fortunes prevented a steeper fall. NAB, which bounced back after the resignation of beleaguered chief executive Frank Cicutto, kept climbing, reaching $31.15 before dropping back to A$31.01 by mid-monring.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp were both higher.
The market was subdued ahead of a decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia on whether to increase interest rates. Most expect the cash-rate to be maintained at 5.75 percent.
New Zealand's Top 50 index was off slightly, dropping 0.26 percent to stand at 2449.62 by early afternoon.
Earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.11 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 10,499.18 while the Nasdaq dipped 0.15 per cent, to 2063.15. The S&P's 500 advanced 0.37 per cent to 1135.26.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
