Asian markets mixed as Japan stocks fall 3rd straight day

The Associated Press ,  Bangkok   |  Thu, 04/10/2008 11:37 PM  |  Headlines

Asian markets were mixed Thursday, with Japanese stocks falling their third straight session, and the major indices rebounding in China and Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index drop 1.3 percent to 12,945.3 points, dragged down by weakness in the property and electronics sectors.

In China and Hong Kong, gains in financial and mining companies helped the exchange benchmarks bounce back from losses in previous sessions. The Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent to 24,187.1, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.7 percent to 3,471.7.

Market observers said the Nikkei is set to fall further in the short term if U.S. banks' earnings disappoint next week. Stubborn worries over sizzling commodity prices are also damping enthusiasm for stocks.

"There is growing concern among investors tha rising material costs will hurt companies' bottom lines," said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities. He added that weakness in U.S.
consumer spending, as suggested by a cut in United Parcel Service's first-quarter earnings guidance, is another bad sign for market sentiment.

Electronics shaes were battered by a sharp appreciation in the yen. The dollar fell as low as 100.73 yen, down from 102.04 in New York late Wednesday. Fanuc fell 6.2 percent. Casio dropped 3.5 percent. Elpida Memory lost 3.8 percent.

Japanese property companies extended their losses into a third day, partly on negative sntiment triggered by Credit Suisse's rating cuts for the sector. Sumitomo Realty & Development slid 3.4 percent. Mitsui Fudosan slipped 3.6 percent.

Hong Kong shares rebounded after two days of losses as traders hunted for bargains among Chinese financial companies.

Ping An Insurance rose 2.6 percent after it fell 5 percent in the previous tw sessions. China Life Insurance rose 1.9 percent after it dropped 5.2 percent the last two days.

Bank of China advanced 2.5 percent. Bank of Communications rose 1.5 percent. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China rose 1.5 percent after it said Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose more than 50 percent rom the same period a year earlier due to steady growth
across all its businesses.

China's Shanghai index rose on strong gains in coal miners and brokerages, bouncing back from a sharp decline the day before.

Analysts characterized the rally, which followed a 5.5 percent drop on Wednesday, as a technil rebound.

"Sure, coal miners and brokerages rose today, but I think it was mostly investors using good earnings reports and forecasts as excuses to bargain hunt," said Great Wall Securities analyst Dan Zhaoyang.

Coal miners rose after China Coal Energy said Wednesday that its 2007 net profit nearl doubled due to higher coal prices and increased output. China Coal, the country's second-largest coal
producer by revenue, jumped 6.8 percent.

Leading miner China Shenhua Energy gained 3.3 percent; Yanzhou Coal Mining rose 7.1 percent.

Brokerages also rallied after Citic Securities said late Wednesday it expects its first-quarter net profit to more than double from a year earlier because of an expansion of its
operations.

Haitong Securities surged 9.9 percent and Changjiang Securities advanced 7.5 percent.

In foreign exchange trading, the Chinese currency broke through the symbolic level of 7 yuan to the U.S. dollar. At one point the dollar dropped to an all-time low of 6.9907 yuan.

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark indices fell in Australia, India, New Zealand and the Philippines. The key indices rose in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan.

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