LONDON (Dow Jones) - Asian markets ended lower Monday as investors fretted about upcoming earnings.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended down 0.7% at 13,106.18, pressured by the electronics sector and before earnings this week from such heavyweights as Sony.

Elsewhere in the region, Sydney's All Ordinaries index slipped 0.2% to 4, 317.30, the Singapore Straits Times index dropped 0.3% to 2,233.65, Taipei's Weighted index declined 0.4% to 5,717.28, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 0.7% to 14,384.02

Of the major indexes, only Seoul's Kospi closed higher, up a mere 0.09% to 1, 184.6.

The Nikkei was dragged down by weakness in such tech companies as NEC Corp. and Pioneer Corp.

NEC (NIPNY) fell after the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's leading financial daily, reported its profit would drop. Pioneer (PIOCF) reported Friday that it would swing to a loss after earlier forecasting a small profit on the year.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said it has set an offering price of 696,780 yen a share for the upcoming public offering of its shares. It's Japan's biggest share sale since 2001.

Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank, will offer a total of 763,000 of its own shares, or about 6.5% of outstanding shares, in a global offering. Investors are concerned the offering will reduce the value of existing stakes.

Turning to autos, Honda Motor Co. said domestic production fell 0.7% in September, marking the third straight month of decreases. Mazda Motor Corp. said its September production in Japan rose 9.2% on the year, gaining for the fourth consecutive month.

Finally, Toyota Motor Corp. said it is likely to post a 7% fall in group operating profit to around 800 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2005, its first on-year decline in four years, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

In Seoul, Posco (PKX) helped fuel the Kospi's rise as investors reacted to the steelmaker's earlier announcement that it planned to become the first South Korean company to list its stocks in Japan .

South Korean tire maker Hankook Tire has picked Hungary as the site for its new 500 million euro ( $597.2 million ) European plant, the firm said.

High oil prices and a weak construction sector are the biggest risks for South Korea's economy next year, the finance minister said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile Taiwan has started "small-scale" production of its own version of the flu-drug Tamiflu, an official at a Department of Health think-tank reportedly said Monday. The two drug makers involved are Yung Zip Chemical Ind. Co., and ScinoPharm Taiwan Ltd.

The small-scale production is the second phase of the government's plan to stockpile enough Tamiflu to cover 10% of the island's population of 23 million. The institute had already completed the first phase of the plan, producing Tamiflu in a laboratory, said Su.

In China news, a senior official at the Peoples' Bank of China said the country's foreign-exchange system is transitory and more reforms are possible. The official was quoted in a report by Dow Jones Newswires reported.

"It's my personal opinion, the weight of the U.S. dollar could be reduced and the yuan's trading band could be widened," said Yu Yongding, a member of the monetary policymaking committee of the central bank. He was speaking at a symposium on the yuan.

"The central bank could scrap the way it automatically determines the closing rate of the yuan and determine it on its own."

Most markets are expected to trade cautiously this week before a raft of U.S. data that could provide hints to the size of the Federal Reserve's expected interest-rate increase when it meets on Nov. 1 .

The most influential figures, U.S. GDP growth for the third quarter, are expected Friday after Asian markets close. Consumer-confidence and existing-home sales figures are expected Tuesday.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 65.88 points to 10, 215.22, ending the past week down 0.7%. The S & P 500 (SPX), though registering a positive Friday, fell 0.6% on the week. Only the Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) bucked the downward trend, lead by a rally in Internet stocks following Google Inc.'s (GOOG) results. The tech-dominated index gained 0.8% on the week.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-24-05 0552ET Copyright (c) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Copyright (C) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.