LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's main markets mostly slipped into negative territory on Thursday, reversing gains earlier in the day as investors looked to the U.S. market for direction amid persistent concerns that estimates of future corporate earnings are too high.
Tokyo's Nikkei average of 225 stocks slipped 12.99 points, or 0.8 percent, to 15,626.96, setting a new 18-month low, led by bellwether consumer electronics maker Sony.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 28.38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,415.75, with early gains for telecom stocks wiped out as investors waited for Pacific Century CyberWorks to report its first-half earnings after the market closed.
"The market is under pressure from three E's -- energy, euro and earnings," said Hiroyuki Nakai, senior executive officer at Nippon Global Securities. "With third-quarter results about to come out in the U.S., investors are not so eager to take positions now."
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index rose 1.1 percent to 605.85, led by telecom operators. SK Telecom, the nation's biggest telecom company, jumped almost 7 percent, while Korea Telecom added 0.8 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times index fell slightly, down 0.3 percent at 1,964.87, led by Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, which shed 2.2 percent, after it announced plans to buy a 20 percent stake in U.S. firm Computer Generated Solutions for $80 million.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced for the fourth consecutive day, rising more than 1 percent to 3,290.7. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. climbed 2.8 percent following the company's announcement Wednesday that it would become the top stakeholder in Gemstar-TV Guide International (GMST: Research, Estimates) in a $6.4 billion deal.
In the U.S. Wednesday, the Nasdaq composite index fell for the fifth straight session, slipping 32.80 points to 3,656.30, while the Dow Jones industrial average shed 2.96 to 10,628.36, its third successive fall.
In the currency market, the yen traded at ¥107.45 per U.S. dollar, little changed from ¥107.39 in late U.S. trading.
Playstation2 concern hits Sony
Tokyo technology stocks had a mixed session on Thursday, with Sony tumbling 5.2 percent after it said it would halve the initial rollout of its long-awaited PlayStation2 game console in North America and could not meet demand.
Chipmaker NEC edged up 0.4 percent, after shedding 13 percent since last week's revenue warning by U.S. market leader Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates). Rival Toshiba dipped 0.7 percent, while the country's biggest personal computer maker Fijutsu slipped 0.8 percent.
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone, the country's dominant phone company, fell 2.8 percent and its mobile phone unit NTT DoCoMo lost 3.8 percent.
Internet investment companies had a bad day, Softbank slipping 3.4 percent and rival Hikari Tsushin declining 2.2 percent.
Shares of Mizuho Holdings rose 5.3 percent on their initial day of trading after the merger of Fuji Bank, Industrial Bank of Japan and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank to form the world's largest banking group by assets.
Sumitomo Metal Mining rose 8.7 percent after Japan's biggest nickel producer raised its group net profit forecast for the year ending next March to ¥17 billion ($158.1 billion) from ¥13 billion.
In Hong Kong, banking stocks had a mixed day. The territory's biggest bank HSBC Holdings fell almost 1 percent, while Dao Heng Bank rose 3.9 percent.
Telecom stocks slipped, with index heavyweight China Mobile slipping 0.5 percent and conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa down 1.4 percent.
Pacific Century Cyberworks was unchanged at the close. It later reported a first-half net loss of HK$34.94 million ($4.5 million), largely the result of a $222 million amortization charge related to its takeover of Cable & Wireless HKT.
In Australia, Cable & Wireless Optus rose 3.4 percent, extending the previous session's gains, after saying it was reviewing strategic options for its businesses, including looking for partners for its mobile-phone activities.
In other markets, Taiwan's Weighted index fell 2.3 percent, Kuala Lumpur's KLSE composite index dropped 1.2 percent, and Bangkok's composite SET index slipped 1.3 percent.
The JSX index in Jakarta rose 1.3 percent and Manila's PHS Composite index gained 0.2 percent. 
--from staff and wire reports
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