Nikkei: 9,615.55 (–103.34) Hang Sang: 24,150.58 (+348.68) Shanghai Comp: 2,967.00 (+38.89)
ASIAN STOCKS dropped yester- day, with the regional benchmark index retreating from a three-week high, after Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) began dumping radioactive water from its crippled nuclear plant and semiconductor stocks fell.
Tokyo Electric slumped 18 per cent and headed for its lowest close in almost 60 years.
Elpida Memory, a maker of computer-memory chips, sank 5.8 per cent after a report showed global chip sales fell.
Tokyo Electron, the world’s second-largest maker of semiconductor equipment, fell 2.8 per cent to ¥4,510.
Samsung Techwin, a South Korean maker of security cameras, was down 2.4 per cent to 83,000 won.
Toyota slid 3.1 per cent to ¥3,235 in Tokyo. The company may temporarily close factories in North America because component supplies are running low.
Extract Alliance Global, owner of the McDonald’s franchise in the Philippines, slumped 6 per cent to 11.28 pesos.
Extract Resources climbed 3.1 per cent to A$8.23 in Sydney. – (Bloomberg)
