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Asia suffers tech retreat
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August 8, 2000: 3:12 a.m. ET
Hong Kong hit by C&W HKT, Tokyo cashes out but Taipei shares jump
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Investors in Asia cashed out Tuesday after a recent run-up for select technology stocks, driving most leading indexes across the region lower.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 182.60 points, or 1.1 percent, at 15,820.11.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended 515.41 points lower, or 2.9 percent, at 17,211.84, accelerating its losses late in the day as telecom and technology stocks retreated. Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 0.7 percent, or 14.30 points, to 2,045.02.
In other leading Pacific Rim markets, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.1 percent and the KOSPI index in Seoul fell 1.4 percent.
But the Taiwan Weighted index in Taipei added 1.1 percent following a strong performance for technology stocks in the wake of gains for the sector on Wall Street and a government reform plan to allow companies to buy back their own shares.
Stocks rose on Wall Street Monday. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average increased 99.26 points to 10,867.01 while the technology-laden Nasdaq composite jumped 2 percent.
In the currency market, the dollar traded at ¥108.63 against the Japanese yen, down slightly from ¥109.07 in late New York trading Monday.
Mixed bag for Japanese techs
In the Japanese tech sector, shares of electronics giant Sony dipped 0.6 percent and Internet investor and telecommunications firm Hikari Tsushin fell 3.2 percent.
But on the upside, high-tech manufacturer NEC rose 4.1 percent and Softbank, an Internet investor with many ties to Nasdaq-listed companies, jumped 10.5 percent.
In Tokyo's banking sector, shares of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank dropped 4.7 percent following reports it was likely to announce as early as this week an accord with construction firm Hazama on forgiving its loans. Hazama added 12.2 percent.
Communications satellite operator JSAT soared 17 percent following its market debut - suggesting the market for initial public offerings has revived.
Drug maker Welfide slipped 2.7 percent, extending its recent losses on news of another temporary closure at its U.S. unit's main plant. The company stopped operations at its Los Angeles plant following orders from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for further inspection.
Kirin Beverage fell 2.6 percent after recalling 617,460 cans of tomato
juice following a customer complaint a dead fly was found in a can.
In Hong Kong, shares of property developer China Overseas rose 3.1 percent after reporting a 334 percent jump in net earnings to HK$223.27 million ($28.6 million) for the six months ended June 30 compared with a profit of HK$51.43 million for the same period last year.
Cable & Wireless HKT plunged 11.6 percent on its last day of trade. The company is set to merge with Pacific Century CyberWorks by the end of this month. PCCW shares, which are set to replace C&W HKT in the Hang Seng index, tumbled 7.9 percent.
Straits Times index heavyweight Singapore Telecommunications rose 2.9 percent after the leading telecom in the country said it would pay $400 million for a 20 percent stake in India's Bharti Telecom and another 15 percent stake in its affiliate, Bharti Televentures.
OCBC, Singapore's third-largest bank by assets, slipped 5.9 percent amid analyst downgrades, losing more than 5 percent for a second day after the company disappointed markets with its interim results.
Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta's JSX index closed down 1.1 percent, Manila's PHS composite fell 0.8 percent, the KLSE composite in Malaysia added 1.4 percent while the Bangkok SET was up 3.8 percent in late trade amid strength in the banking and financial sector. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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