Taipei strong as Tokyo flat

Asian markets were mixed Thursday amid the release of a new round of quarterly earnings reports.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 0.5 percent to 13,909.42. In Shanghai the composite index closed up 1.8 percent at 1,169.12. The Taipei market closed up as well, with a 1.1 percent gain, to close at 5,842.27, its best result in two weeks.

Technology stocks were a major contributor to the gain. The Tokyo markets were virtually flat, with the Nikkei 225 closing less than 0.1 percent higher at 11,008.90. The Topix was down just slightly, to close at 1,129.93.

In the technology sector, shares in Sony fell 1.8 percent. The loss was due to the release of the full-year earnings report for its electronics division, which reported an operating loss and predicted lower profits for the current year.

Shares in Fujitsu and Sanyo were also down after disappointing earnings reports. Fujitsu fell 3.3 percent and Sanyo was down 2.6 percent. Canon was down too, by 0.2 percent, despite a Wednesday report that its quarterly operating profit was up by 7.3 percent on strong sales. Hitachi, however, was up 0.8 percent on a better than expected quarterly report and a positive forecast for the future.

Seoul’s composite index was down 1.3 percent, to close at 917.73, a three-month low. Hyundai Motors reported a sharp drop in quarterly operating profits. Additionally, Kia Motors also down on the day in anticipation of its quarterly report, due Friday.

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