Dollar woes plague Asia markets
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Investors monitor the flagging fortunes of the Nikkei Tuesday as it sank to a five-week low.
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(CNN) -- The struggling dollar, now at its lowest point against the yen since September 2000, pushed down bourses across Asia Tuesday.
The Nikkei 225 finished on a five-week low, shedding 1.25 percent to close at 10.641.92.
At one stage the market tumbled more than 2 percent before climbing back slightly.
The Topix index fell 0.59 percent to 1,043.28.
South Korea had the region's biggest fall, off 1.76 percent, while Taiwan also dropped more than 1 percent. Australia and New Zealand both lost about a third of a percent and Singapore is slightly in the red.
Hong Kong is up near the close.
The dollar again struggled against the yen with the threat of Japanese intervention keeping it just above a three-and-a-half-year low. It closed in Tokyo at 105.55 yen.
Markets fear dramatic falls in revenue for the region's key exporters – especially those that have strength in the U.S. market -- because of the stronger exchange rates against the dollar
Sharp, Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, and Olympus sank after saying the yen's gain against the dollar would stunt earnings.
Olympus plunged 6.6 percent to 2,070 yen after the company lowered its annual sales and operating profit forecasts, citing price declines amid heightening competition and the strengthening yen. Competitor Pentax plunged 11 percent to 582 yen.
The dollar's stroubles also plagued the market value of major U.S.-bound exporters Nissan, Hyundai, Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor.
South Korea's Kospi shed 1.76 percent to close at 842.30.
Hyundai was one of the most significant losers of the day, crashing 6.09 percent.
Samsung dropped 2.46 percent and SK Telecom lost 1.14 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times index, closed for Muslim holidays Monday, could not shake off the negative sentiment and is down 0.2 percent heading towards the close.
Fears of a downturn in tourism because of the bird flu fuelled a sell-off of Singapore Airlines stock, which dropped 2.65 percent to S$11. SingTel is up 2 percent to S$2.60.
Cathay Pacific suffered a similar day to its counterpart in Singapore. It dropped 2.14 percent to HK$13.65.
However, the Hang Seng climbed 0.35 percent to stand at 13,045.51 near the close of business.
PCCW ended several days of loses, climbing 1.71 percent to HK$5.90.
The Taiex typified the region's negative sentiment, losing 1.07 percent to close at 6252.23.
Bellwethers Taiwan Semiconductor lost 2.31 percent to stand at T$63.50 and United Micro Electronic was down 2.26 percent at T$30.20 as local investors concluded the weakening dollar meant declines in their export earnings.
Indonesian stocks sank more than 3 percent Tuesday as Jakarta confirmed the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus strain had been found in the country.
The Jakarta Composite index fell 3.14 percent to 729.28 points, near a four-week low.
Australian stocks were marginally weaker pending a decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia on interest rates early Wednesday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.32 percent at 3,269.0 following Monday's 0.1 percent gain.
"People are really sitting on their hands until they know what the RBA thinking is," said Mike Kendall, manager of Goldman Sachs JBWere's retail arm.
Australia's big four banks were mixed. National Australia Bank retreated 0.26 percent to A$30.85 following strong gains on Monday after Chief Executive Frank Cicutto resigned.
Commonwealth Bank was flat at A$30.35 while ANZ Bank rose 0.17 percent to A$17.56.
Among resources, miner Rio Tinto slipped 0.6 percent to A$35.25 after disappointing second-half results. Rio reported a 10.5 percent fall in profit but predicted a strong 2004 led by solid Chinese demand.
Macquarie Infrastructure fell 3.6 percent to A$2.98 after reporting trouble at its Canadian toll road business.
New Zealand's Top 50 index was off slightly, dropping 0.30 percent to close at 2448.74.
Earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 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.
