originally by By Allen Wan, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 7:17 AM ET Nov. 24, 2003
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Asian stock markets ended mixed Monday as the mood turned cautious, ahead of holidays in Japan and the U.S. this week and amid a flare-up in geopolitical worries.
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi lost 2.2 percent to 753, while Taiwan's Weighted Average shed 0.2 percent to 5,821. Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.6 percent to 1,666. Hong Kong edged up 0.1 percent to 11,848 and the Sydney market was flat at 3,175.
South Korea's stock market fell as investors dumped banking and financial issues after LG Card's creditors gave the debt-laden credit-card company a reprieve with a 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) loan. Bloomberg reported that Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank and six other creditor banks lent the money to the country's fourth-biggest credit-card company in order to stave off bankruptcy following a recent liquidity crisis brought about by a rising number of credit-card defaults.
Shares of LG Card plunged to the session limit of 15 percent to 7,570 yen, while those of Kookmin Bank (KB: news, chart) fell 2.5 percent to 40,550 won and those of Woori Bank parent Woori Finance sank 4.3 percent to 6,460 won.
The Japanese financial markets were closed Monday for the Labor Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. markets will be shut on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and open for a half-day on Friday. Wall Street ended slightly higher Friday, with the Dow gaining 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq rising 0.6 percent.
Despite abbreviated trading on Wall Street this week, there'll be plenty of data for investors to feast on, including revised gross domestic product, home sales, personal income, durable goods as well as weekly jobless claims.
In Sydney, shares of telecom giant Telstra (TLS: news, chart) climbed 1.4 percent toA$4.94 after the nation's biggest phone company said it would buy back A$1 billion ($719 million) worth of its shares at A$4.20 each, representing a 14 percent discount to its closing share price on Friday. Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS: news, chart) slipped 1.4 percent to A$11.53.
In Taipei, United Microelectronics (UMC: news, chart) rose 0.3 percent to T$29.20 and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM: news, chart) fell 1.5 percent to T$64.00.
Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor (CHRT: news, chart) was unchanged at S$1.44.
In Hong Kong, shares of HSBC (HBC: news, chart) rebounded 0.9 percent to HK$116.50 after falling late last week on news that its Turkish headquarters was the scene of a deadly attack. On Friday, the bank said it was operating as normal and that it remained committed to the country.
On Friday, Tokyo stocks followed the path of least resistance as the Nikkei Average joined the global trend of falling equities after deadly explosions in Istanbul reignited fears about terrorism. The Nikkei lost 12 points despite a flood of positive economic news, including an upgrade of the economy by the Bank of Japan, which also left rates steady after the end of the two-day policy meeting.
Over the weekend, Al-Qaida once again reportedly threatened Japan with attacks if it sends troops to Iraq. The Japanese government has already decided not to send Self-Defense Forces to Iraq for reconstruction purposes this year due to the security situation in that country following recent attacks there as well as in Istanbul.
Among the key events this week will be earnings from the country's top banks and a flood of economic data on Friday, including industrial production, consumer spending and the unemployment rate. Mizuho Financial (MZHOF: news, chart) , UFJ Holdings (UFJHF: news, chart) , Mitsui Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial are all releasing half-year results on Tuesday.
