Nikkei plunges on tech fears
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Honda and some other automakers are higher in Tokyo Tuesday.
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(CNN) -- Japanese stocks are sharply lower at midday Tuesday, reversing early gains for some techs and banks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average is down 0.65 percent to 10,335.51 at the end of the morning session, after it fell 0.56 percent Monday.
The broader Topix index is down 0.34 percent to 1021.25.
Nikon is among the big losers, dropping 11 percent after cutting its full-year forecast. Investors are dumping other tech-related stocks.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's market is slightly higher, and there are also small gains for Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand.
But Hong Kong and Singapore have joined Japan in the red.
Continued worries about the stronger yen and caution ahead of Wednesday's national holiday in Japan are weighing on investor sentiment.
The dollar is trading at 105.63 yen in Tokyo.
Automakers are mixed, with Toyota up 0.5 percent to 3530 yen and Honda 1.8 percent ahead to 4510 yen. Nissan is down more than 3 percent to 1062 yen.
Consumer electronics leader Sony is 0.7 percent higher to 4300 yen and Hitachi and Kyocera are also in the black. But Canon and Toshiba have given up early gains to fall into the red.
Telecom stocks are lower, with KDDI off 4.3 percent and NTT down 2.3 percent. Some of the big banks are showing modest gains. SMFG is up 2 percent and Mizuho is 0.7 percent higher.
In Seoul, the Kospi is 0.33 percent ahead to 867.62, led by gains for Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom. But big exporter Hyundai Motor is down almost 2 percent.
n Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is virtually flat, up 0.10 percent to 3290.4. Qantas Airways is 2 percent higher and resources leader BHP Billiton is up about 1.7 percent.
Brewing giant Foster's is 0.93 percent lower at A$4.27 after posting interim results. (Full story)
In Taiwan, the Taiex is 0.24 percent higher at 6478.36, but chip foundries TSMC and UMC are both lower.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is 0.38 percent lower to 13,529.30. There are falls for China Mobile and Hutchison Whampoa, but big bank HSBC is slightly higher.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index is down 0.3 percent to 1882.66. Leading bank DBS is down almost 2 percent but SingTel is bullish, up 2.7 percent to S$2.27.
The moves in Asia follow a down day on Wall Street Monday, with the Dow easing 0.13 percent and the Nasdaq giving up 0.17 percent. (Full story)
Most interest is on the Juniper Networks plan to buy NetScreen Technologies for $3.4 billion. (Full story)
