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Asian markets end mixed
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March 23, 2000: 6:32 a.m. ET
Tokyo slips, HK at two-week high as Vodafone sale lifts Hutchison
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian markets were mixed Thursday with no strong influences dictating the mood across the region. Tokyo's main index posted a narrow loss as Japanese institutional investors cut their holdings ahead of the fiscal year end. Hong Kong rose to its highest close in two weeks, buoyed by Hutchison Whampoa's sale of a stake in U.K. mobile-phone operator Vodafone AirTouch.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended down 28.99 points, or 0.15 percent, at 19,704.60 as investors built up cash ahead of the March 31 end of the fiscal year. Monday is the last day of trading for March settlement.
"This is typical market behavior right before official book-closings," Toshihiko Matsuno, deputy investment advisory manager at Yamatane Securities, told Reuters. "We're seeing institutional investors selling cross-held shares and taking profits, while some are staying on the sidelines."
Telecom giant and index heavyweight Nippon Telegraph and Telephone rose 7.9 percent to ¥1.5 million after talks between Japan and Washington ended without agreement. Washington had called on NTT to slash its connection charges.
Internet investor Softbank fell 9.8 percent to ¥101,000, while mobile phone distributor and Web service provider Hikari Tsushin lost 5.6 percent to ¥83,000. Both stocks had enjoyed gains in recent sessions.
Drug withdrawal hits Sankyo
Pharmaceutical firm Sankyo fell 1.5 percent to 2,250 yen after it announced on Wednesday it would halt sales in Japan of its diabetes drug Rezulin, sold under the name Noscal in the domestic market. The setback is expected to result in a ¥13 billion ($121 million) fall in sales for the year starting in April.
Hong Kong stocks rose to end the session 163.54 points, or 0.9 percent higher at 17,710.58. The index was led higher by Hutchison Whampoa after the conglomerate sold a third of its stake in the world's largest mobile-phone company Vodafone AirTouch (VOD). Hutchison and parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) both reported earnings after the market closed.
Hutchison posted a 1999 net profit of HK$117.35 billion ($15 billlion), compared to HK$8.71 billion in 1998, helped by a HK$118 billion gain from the sale of its stake in U.K. mobile phone company Orange. Cheung Kong reported 1999 profit of HK$59.4 billion, due partly to the huge exceptional gain from Hutchison.
Hutchison rose HK$6.50, or 4.7 percent to HK$143.00, while Cheung Kong gained HK$4.00, or 3.6 percent, to HK$145.50.
Shares in Hong Kong's largest telecom company Cable & Wireless HKT rose 1.2 percent to HK$20.95 after slumping in recent days. The completion of the company's merger with internet firm Pacific Century CyberWorks has been questioned because Pacific Century's share price has fallen 35 percent from its Feb. 15 value of $28.50. Pacific Century on Thursday ended a two-session slump, rising HK$0.10 to HK$18.80.
Australia's All Ordinaries Index fell as investors sold blue-chip stocks, wiping out gains made earlier in the day. The benchmark index closed down 30 points, or just under 1 percent, at 3,243.5.
National airline Qantas slipped 21 cents to close at A$3.71 on news that Richard Branson's Virgin Australian low-cost airline would order 10 new Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) 737 aircraft.
Energy and mining group BHP fell 1 percent to A$17.70, and Rio Tinto lost about 1.3 percent to A$24.83, as weaker metal prices hit mining stocks.
Tech gains lift Singapore
Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 6.79 points, or 3 percent, to end the session at 2,126.85. Among the gainers, Multimedia Creative Technology rose 6 percent to S$53.90, mirroring gains of its Nasdaq-listed shares. Singapore Telecommunication fell 9 cents to S$2.70 ahead of the planned liberalization of the country's telecom market on April 1.
Taiwan recorded sharp gains for a third straight session as concerns over political tension between Taiwan and China eased. TheTAIEX benchmark index rose 464.48 points, or 5.1 percent, to close at 9,533.87.
Malaysian shares rose more than 2.3 percent to end the session at 971.19 as overseas funds bought blue-chip stocks, such as conglomerate Renoug.
South Korea's Kospi index fell 1.7 percent to 867.2 as institutional investors pocketed profits ahead of the fiscal year end. The Manila stock market climbed more than 2 percent as investors bought neglected blue-chip stocks. Thai shares rose just under 1 percent to close at 399.03 on demand for banking and electronics companies.
In the U.S. Wednesday the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 153.07 points, or 3.3 percent, to 4,864.75, its fifth-biggest point gain, as investors snapped up the technology firms that are expected to post higher profits in the first three months of 2000.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.64 to 10,866.70, hurt by so-called "old economy" stocks such as Coca-Cola, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, and Exxon-Mobil. The broader S&P 500 rose 6.77 to a record 1,500.64.
In the currency markets, the yen was little changed at 107.40 to the dollar. 
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