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Asian stock markets fall
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May 15, 2000: 5:49 a.m. ET
Autos drag Tokyo lower, HK slips, as investors await US interest-rate hike
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Asia's main markets fell Monday as investors awaited the following day's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at which interest rate policymakers are expected to raise rates by half a percentage point to cool a booming U.S. economy.
In Japan, the Nikkei Average of 225 leading stocks fell 0.25 percent to close at 17,313.69, dragged down Honda Motor, which reported a 14 percent decline in net profit. Traders said the run-up to a batch of Japanese corporate earnings reports in the coming weeks kept investors on the sidelines.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index slipped 230.64 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 14,881.3, amid thin trading ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. Hong Kong is expected to announce an increase in local rates soon after the Fed's verdict. Singapore's Straits Times index was down 0.7 percent at 2,011.7.
On Friday, U.S. stocks rose for a second straight session after investors learned that wholesale inflation fell last month. The Nasdaq composite index rose 29.49 points to 3,529.07, while the Dow Jones industrial average gained 63.40 to 10,609.37.
In the currency market Monday, the yen traded at ¥108.68 to the U.S. dollar, down from ¥108.42 in late trading in New York Friday.
In Tokyo, auto stocks fell on concern an interest-rate hike will slow U.S. demand for Japanese cars. Toyota Motor fell 3 percent to ¥5,190. Japan's largest automaker reports earnings on Wednesday.
Honda Motor, Japan's second largest, fell 10.9 percent after its report Friday that profit for the year ended Mar. 31 fell 14 percent, and predicted profit would fall further in the current business year.
Nissan Motor, however, rose 5.5 percent to ¥574.
Less optimistic on TDK
Audio and electronics company TDK fell 7.2 percent after Nikko Salomon Smith Barney issued a downbeat report on the company, saying it expects TDK shares to outperform the TOPIX index by 10 to 25 percent, rather than earlier expectations of more than 25 percent.
Fuji Photo Film slipped 3.5 percent, extending Friday's 4 percent fall after a strong yen depressed operating profit for the year to Mar. 31.
Softbank Technology, the e-commerce subsidiary of Internet investor Softbank, rose 6.9 percent after announcing upbeat earnings on Friday. Softbank fell 4.6 percent.
In Hong Kong, conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa rose 1 percent, recovering from heavy losses in recent weeks on concern about planned spending on third-generation mobile-phone licenses in Europe. Index heavyweight China Telecom fell 3.9 percent after a 6.5 percent surge on Friday.
In the banking sector, Hang Seng Bank fell 1.25 percent and Dao Heng Bank slipped 0.8 percent.
In Australia, the All Ordinaries rose 0.6 percent to close at 3,018.6, buoyed by gains on Wall Street Friday. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. led the market higher, rising 53 cents to A$20.75 following a jump in its American depositary receipts. Energy stocks advanced after June crude oil futures rose 51 cents to US$29.62 a barrel, a two-month high. BHP, with oil and gas assets alongside its metals and minerals mining businesses, rose 22.7 cents to A$17.10, and Woodside Petroleum gained 22 cents to A$11.54.
In smaller markets, Kuala Lumpur's KLSE index slipped 0.4 percent to 909.40, while Bangkok's SET benchmark fell 1.4 percent despite some good first-quarter corporate results.
Jakarta's Composite index dropped 2.5 percent to 513.43 amid economic and political uncertainties. Manila's benchmark PSI index closed down 1.4 percent to 1,517.09 amid poor first-quarter earnings. In Seoul, the KOSPI fell 1.6 percent, and Taipei stocks shed 1.1 percent. 
-from staff and wire reports
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