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Asian markets end mixed
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October 27, 2000: 5:52 a.m. ET
Sony earnings dent Tokyo, HK hit by property stocks; techs lift Singapore
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Tokyo's leading index stumbled Friday as shares of consumer electronics titan Sony fell sharply in the wake of its unimpressive earnings report, but Asian markets ended mixed as advances for technology stocks boosted Singapore's leading gauge.
 Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 average closed down 276.23 points, or 1.9 percent, at 14,582.20, as Sony tumbled 7.5 percent. The company reported after the market closed on Thursday that net profit sank 57.4 percent in the July-September quarter, due mainly to the strong yen and costs of rolling out its new PlayStation 2 video game player.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.6 percent to 15,012.71 as property stocks slumped.
The Straits Times index in Singapore was Asia's leading gainer, climbing 2 percent to 1,961.04, powered by an 8.6 percent rally for contract electronics maker NatSteel Electronics on talk that it plans to sell a stake in the company.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.2 percent, while the Taiwan Weighted index closed down 2.3 percent in Taipei and South Korea's KOSPI index fell 1.6 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded at ¥108.40 against the Japanese yen, little changed from ¥108.32 in late trading in New York Thursday. Japan's trade ministry reported Friday that industrial production fell 3.4 percent in September from the previous month, somewhat worse than the median forecast of a 2.5 percent drop predicted in a Reuters poll of 13 economists.
Tokyo cable makers rebound
Makers of fiber-optic cables climbed strongly Friday after steep falls in the past two sessions, buoyed by news that JDS Uniphase (JDSU: Research, Estimates), the world's largest supplier of components that boost capacity and speed in fiber-optic telecom networks, reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings.
Shares in Japan's top fiber-optic cable maker Furukawa Electric, which owns a 14 percent stake in JDS Uniphase, rose 6.7 percent. Among other cable firms, Fujikura rose 2.9 percent and Sumitomo Electric Industries gained 3.2 percent.
NEC jumped 5.9 percent, a day after Japan's largest chipmaker said it returned to profit in the half year to September, as chip sales were boosted by robust global demand for personal computers and cell phones.
TDK dived 10 percent to ¥11,030, extending the previous two days' declines. 
Internet investor Softbank also dropped for a third straight day, shedding 1.5 percent, while counterpart Hikari Tsushin tumbled 5.6 percent.
Telecom market leader Nippon Telegraph and Telephone rose 4 percent after the subscription period for its sale of 1.3 million shares to the public ended on Thursday. The shares are being sold for ¥949,000 apiece. The company's separately traded mobile-phone unit NTT DoCoMo fell 3.1 percent.
Optimism about China Mobile sale
Helping lift Hong Kong was mainland China's biggest cellular-phone company, China Mobile (Hong Kong), which advanced 1 percent on expectations its upcoming share issue would be well received. China Mobile shares constitute about 20 percent of the weighting of the Hang Seng index.
Property developer Sun Hung Kai Properties fell 6.7 percent while rival Cheung Kong (Holdings) lost 2 percent and Henderson Land tumbled 6 percent.
 In Singapore, among chip firms, Venture Manufacturing rose 8.1 percent and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing rose 4 percent.
Straits Times index heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications rose 2.1 percent.
In Sydney, media conglomerate News Corp. gained 2.1 percent while telecom operator Telstra fell 2.4 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, the KLSE composite index in Kuala Lumpur fell 0.7 percent, the PHS composite in Manila shed 0.7 percent and Jakarta's JSX index dropped 0.6 percent. Bangkok's SET index lost 0.3 percent and Mumbai's Sensex declined 0.6 percent in late trading. 
-from staff and wire reports
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