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Asian markets end mixed
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July 21, 2000: 6:07 a.m. ET
Tokyo tech shares go into reverse; HK, Singapore, Sydney ahead
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's top markets closed mixed Friday, as technology stocks in Tokyo came under pressure but their peers in Hong Kong rose after a strong gain for the U.S. Nasdaq market the previous day.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 172.08 points, or 1 percent, at 16,811.49. Among high-tech manufacturers, Sony shed 2.5 percent and Fujitsu 4.8 percent. For the week, the blue-chip Tokyo index was down 1.9 percent. 
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 162.35 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,920.86, with HSBC Holdings climbing 1.5 percent. Many analysts expect that the international bank will report at least a 20 percent jump in profit at the end of the month. Hang Seng ended the week 2.5 percent up from the previous Friday.
The Singapore Straits Times shed 6.55 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,126.70, but closed 2.6 percent ahead of its level a week earlier. Shares of index heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications shed 1.3 percent Friday.
In other major Pacific Rim markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose  31.4 points, or 0.95 percent, to 3,332.3, putting the index in the black on the week with a gain of 0.8 percent. Media conglomerate News Corp. was up 2.2 percent Friday.
Elsewhere, the Taiwan Weighted index in Taipei fell 0.6 percent, with Taiwan Semiconductor down 3.7 percent, while the Kospi index in Seoul edged up 0.5 percent.
In the currency market, the dollar rose to ¥108.51 from ¥107.67 in late New York trading Thursday. The dollar had come under pressure in the wake of signs from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that U.S. interest rates might not rise again anytime soon.
The Fed Chairman's testimony on Capitol Hill Thursday sparked a rally in U.S. stocks, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumping 3.2 percent.
NTT fees to be cut
Investors in Japan, though, were still reluctant to buy leading telephone company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, which fell 2.8 percent after Japan and the United States agreed Wednesday to cut the rates NTT charges rivals for access to its local phone lines.
Among NTT affiliates, Japan's top mobile-phone operator NTT DoCoMo fell 2 percent, and NTT Data, a provider of a broad range of communication services, fell 2.9 percent.
Internet investor Softbank fell 2.2 percent after media reports said Japanese tax authorities were questioning its president Masayoshi Son on suspicion that he failed to report ¥90 million ($830,000) in taxable benefits.
Fellow Internet investor Hikari Tsushin rose 16 percent, extending recent gains, which were initiated by a Hong Kong newspaper report that Internet company Pacific Century CyberWorks was considering buying of a controlling stake in Hikari.
PCCW denied the report, but Hikari shares were also boosted by a Financial Times report saying that Hikari President Yasumitsu Shigeta might be forced to step down to restore market confidence in the company. In Hong Kong, shares of PCCW rose 3.9 percent.
Japan's Sapporo Breweries fell 8.7 percent after the beer maker cut its forecast for parent-company current profit for the six months to June,  lowering it to ¥1.2 billion from ¥5.5 billion.
Hong Kong-listed brewer Tsingtao Brewery was more to investors' taste, shooting up 12.2 percent, its second sharp gain in two days after announcing talks with Carlsberg to buy a Shanghai-based brewery controlled by the Danish brewer.
Also in Hong Kong, Hang Seng index heavyweight China Mobile climbed 1.7 percent after saying it would cut fees for some services to try to assuage widespread resentment over high phone rates, state media said.
In Singapore, a second day of weakness for chip companies saw Chartered Semiconductor drop 5.1 percent, despite reporting strong second-quarter earnings that met expectations.
Blue-chip electronic component maker Venture Manufacturing rose 1.9 percent, bucking the market trend.
Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta's JSX index fell 0.9 percent, Manila's PHS composite fell 0.7 percent, the KLSE composite in Malaysia slipped 0.5 percent while in Bangkok, the SET index dropped 0.3 percent. 
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