LONDON (CNNfn) - Blue-chip stock indexes in Tokyo and Hong Kong fell Thursday after a slip in U.S. markets ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 127 points, or 0.4 percent, at 18,959.32, as a late selloff in the last hour of trade wiped out gains that had taken the index as high as 19,382 earlier in the session. Weak financial stocks overcame gains by auto and electronics shares.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended down 60 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,367.10, some 150 points above its session low. Banking, telecom and property shares all lost ground.
Singapore's Straits Times was the only major market in the region to make ground, closing up a shade over 1 percent at 2,080.27. Banking shares firmed after strong first-quarter export data brightened the outlook for the local economy.
Asia was hit by a retreat in U.S. markets Wednesday after two sessions of strong gains. Disappointing revenue forecasts from IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) and chipmaker Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 92 points, to close at 10,674.96, while the broader S&P 500 fell 14 points to 1,427.47. The Nasdaq composite was down 87 points at 3,706.41.
 In the currency markets Thursday, the yen was little changed against the dollar, trading around ¥104.68 from a New York close of ¥104.74. The euro, at $0.9410, was also little changed from the previous day's close, although that represented a recovery from a new lifetime low of $93.59, set during New York trading. The resignation of the Italian prime minister and speculation that the European Central Bank would continue to let the currency drift provided the backdrop to its latest weakness.
Warning on new phone sales
In Tokyo, NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellular phone operator, lost almost 6 percent after the company said technical problems would slow the roll-out of its popular Internet-enabled cellphones.
A late sell-off among other tech shares saw Fujitsu, NEC and Toshiba all post narrow losses while the 30 stocks due to exit the Nikkei 225 next week also succumbed to some final selling pressure in afternoon trade.
The prospect of another banking merger, the tie between Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Trust, sent the sector lower, with Sakura Bank worst off with a 5 percent decline. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi closed narrowly lower.
Electronic office-equipment maker Canon provided the main buoyancy in Tokyo, soaring 12 percent after it said strong sales would send first-quarter earnings up some 68 percent.
Automakers also firmed, with Nissan Motor up 4 percent after announcing plans to boost production amid strong demand from overseas. Toyota Motor added 1.5 percent after announcing a sharp drop in operating costs.
 Hong Kong's Hang Seng was holed by weak financial stocks, with HSBC Holdings down almost 1 percent in late afternoon trade amid fears that higher interest rates would choke off loan growth. Cheung Kong (Holdings) lost 1.5 percent and most other property stocks lost ground. Mobile phone operator China Telecom ended almost 1 percent lower.
Singapore Airlines was the best performer on the Straits Times, rising 6 percent as it closed in on a deal to increase its stake in Air New Zealand. UOB was the best performer in the bank sector, rising almost 5 percent.
Smaller Asian markets were mixed, with the Kospi index in Seoul ending 0.8 percent higher at 761.25. Taiwan's TAIEX index ended just 4.65 points higher at 9,109.05 as financial stocks provided some buoyancy after a media report that Asia Pacific Commercial Bank and International Bills Finance planned to merge.
Sydney's S&P/ASX200 index ended just 0.5 points higher at 3,069.70 in light trading ahead of the market's holiday closure until next Wednesday.
The Set 50 in Bangkok ended down about 0.5 percent at 389.18, the JSX index in Jakarta closed fractionally ahead at 526.40 and Kuala Lumpur's KLSE Composite closed a fraction lower at 895.27. 
-- from staff and wire reports
|
