LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian market closed mixed on Wednesday, with Tokyo sliding to an 18-month low after profit warnings dragged down key U.S. indexes the previous day, prompting a sell-off in technology and telecom stocks for more defensive real-estate shares.
Japan's Nikkei average of 225 stocks fell 288.67 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 15,639.95, with Fuji Photo Film and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone leading the decline.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong ended the session with a gain of 153.28 points, or 1 percent, at 15,444.13, recovering in late trading from a 2 percent slide earlier in the day.
"The (Hong Kong) market was quite volatile ahead of the futures' settlement" on Thursday, said Ben Kwong, associate director at KGI Asia Ltd. "There was support at 15,000 but short-term market sentiment remains quite cautious."
South Korea's Kospi index rose 11.71 points, almost 2 percent, to 599.31.
The Straits Times index in Singapore fell 19.19 points, about 1 percent, to 1.970.2, led by banking stocks, with DBS Group falling 3.4 percent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 percent to 3,256.3, with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. up 3 percent, pacing a gain the previous day in its U.S.-traded shares. The company said it's in talks with Liberty Media Corp. to buy the U.S. company's stake in electronic program guide publisher GemStar-TV Guide International.
In the U.S. Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 176.83 points, or 1.6 percent, to 10,631.32, after Eastman Kodak became the latest blue-chip company to warn earnings will decline because of the strong dollar, which reduces revenue from overseas sales. A warning about lower-than-expected profit at computer printer maker Lexmark International (LXK: Research, Estimates) weighed on the Nasdaq composite index, which slipped 1.4 percent, or 52.12 points to 3,689.10.
In the currency market, the yen traded at ¥107.54 against the U.S. dollar, little changed from ¥107.58 in late U.S. trading on Tuesday.
Kodak warning hits Fuji, Canon
In Tokyo Wednesday, Fuji Photo Film fell 7.7 percent and Canon, a maker of cameras and photocopiers, dropped 6.8 percent, hurt by U.S. rival Kodak's (EK: Research, Estimates) cut in its profit forecast for the third quarter.
Technology stocks tracked overnight declines in their U.S. counterparts.
Fujitsu, one of Japan's biggest computer makers, fell 4.7 percent, chipmaker NEC lost 3.4 percent, while consumer electronics market leader Sony dropped 3.5 percent.
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone extended its recent declines, dropping 5.3 percent on concern the government's decision to sell shares in the former state monopoly would create an oversupply in the market.
NTT DoCoMo jumped 2 percent, bucking the general downtrend in technology stocks. The country's dominant mobile-phone company rose on expectations that it was set to announce a long-anticipated tie-up with U.S. Internet service provider America Online Inc (AOL: Research, Estimates). The companies formally announced the deal after the market closed.
Real estate stocks benefited for a second day as investors scooped up defensive shares. Industry leader Mitsui Fudosan rose 4.5 percent and Mitsubishi Estate climbed 2.5 percent.
In Hong Kong, telecom stocks rose after an early bout of selling. Pacific Century CyberWorks climbed more than 5 percent and telecom-to-property conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa rose 2.5 percent.
Cheung Kong (Holdings), the territory's largest real estate developer, climbed 1.1 percent, and second-ranked Sun Hung Kai Properties gained almost 3 percent, while Amoy Properties surged 7.1 percent.
The territory's largest bank HSBC Holdings rose 1 percent, Dao Heng Bank soared 4.6 percent and Hang Seng Bank climbed 1.2 percent.
Back in Sydney, C&W Optus rose 5.6 percent, after the telecom operator said it would review its businesses and consider taking partners in its mobile, consumer and multimedia operations.
In other markets, Taiwan's Weighted index fell 0.5 percent, Kuala Lumpur's KLSE composite index dropped 1 percent, and the JSX index in Jakarta slipped 0.4 percent.
Bangkok's composite SET index added almost 1 percent and Manila's PHS Composite index gained 0.9 percent. 
--from staff and wire reports
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