By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese and Taiwanese stocks fell
Thursday after a pullback on Wall Street, while Hong Kong equities
rose on the back of results from Lenovo Group Ltd. and Li &
Fung Ltd., and an increase in gold prices limited losses for
Australian shares.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.9%, and Taiwan's Taiex gave
up 1%.
In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.3% in choppy
trade, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.2%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.1% lower after also moving
in both directions. The South Korean market was closed for a
holiday.
The mixed performance came after the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) Wednesday dropped more than 100 points for the first
time since June, amid concerns about rising Treasury yields, and
some weak results. A sharp drop in shares of technology major and
Dow component Cisco Corp. (CSCO) in after-hours trade also weighed
on Asia.
"The old adage that fear sells couldn't be truer at the moment.
Chatter around a potential 1987-type crash or a looming market top
in U.S. equities is growing louder by the day," said Rivkin analyst
Tim Radford.
However, "as long as the big investors are confident in the U.S.
economy and the U.S. equity market, we shouldn't see an overly big
selloff from current levels in the near term," he said.
Losses in Tokyo surfaced across several sectors, coming as the
U.S. dollar (USDJPY) moved below the Yen98-level.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMTOY) slid 2.3%, Panasonic Corp.
(PCRFY) shed 2.5%, Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) gave up 1.2%, Daiwa
Securities Group Inc. (DSECY) lost 2.9%, and telecommunications
major Softbank Corp. (9984.TO) declined 2.2%.
In Sydney, gold miners climbed after the metal's prices rose 1%
overnight. Shares of Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCMGF) popped 3.4%, and
Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (KCN.AU) advanced 5.7%.
Shares of AMP Ltd. (AMLTF) picked up 3.9% after the firm said
first-half underlying profit fell 9% but still came in above its
projections made earlier.
In Hong Kong, a slew of blue-chips were in focus after reporting
results.
Shares of personal-computer maker Lenovo (LNVGY) rose 2.9%
following a 23% increase in its fiscal-first-quarter profit, and
logistics firm Li & Fung (LFUGY) soared 8.7% as investors
cheered its outlook despite a sharp drop in half-yearly
profits.
Internet major Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY) fell 1.1%, and
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (CPCAY) lost 1.3% after both firms'
profits fell short of estimates.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires