Shy US spenders apply brakes

THE reluctance of US consumers to rush to the rescue of Asian exporters put another check on regional stock markets today, while a downgrading of earnings estimates for chip giant Intel added to the pressure on technology stocks.

Japanese electronics groups bucked the trend, offsetting weakness in the stocks of companies with big exposure to the US market, and the Nikkei 225 Average gained 153.51 to 11,568.82.

Big motor makers were sent sharply into reverse after consumer spending in the US last month rose a fragile 0.3%, and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned that household spending would not power a strong recovery.

After recently snapping up shares in Honda, Toyota and Nissan on expectations that better US sales and a weaker yen would generate a big recovery in earnings, investors were quick to take profits. Honda led the sector down with a 3% fall. Despite a downgrading of Intel profit estimates by investment bank JP Morgan, which left the Nasdaq down 1.8%, many private investors were still buying the story that electronics are back on the growth path, and recent weakness in the sector had been overdone.

Sony Corporation, which would be a big winner from US consumer spending on its PlayStation2 games console, jumped more than 1%, partially reversing a recent 5% correction.

Japan's chipmakers, like those in Taiwan and South Korea, could not shake off the Intel warning so easily, and NEC led the way down with a 1% fall. Biggest tech-wreck of the day was fibre optic cable maker Furukawa, which plunged 6% after forecasting it would be in the red for the first time in 20 years.

Dismay at sluggish spending in the US hit shares of Hong Kong's big export traders in early trades, but by the close the Hang Seng had regained some poise with a 86.2-points advance to 11,303.7.

Telecoms stocks saved the index and mainland cellphone operator China Mobile was marginally ahead as buyers bet profit figures due next week will be better than expected. Property stocks also edged up as reports of some brisk apartment sales offset worries about last year's earnings.

Star performer of the day was the stock exchange itself. Shares of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing rose 3.5% after it unveiled surprisingly strong profit figures.

The Enron contagion hit South Korea's market after regulators said they were probing the books of 13 companies suspected of irregular accounting. Big chipmakers fell on renewed earnings concerns, led by Samsung Electronics, which fell 4%, and the Kospi drooped 7.87 to 841.26. Weak semiconductor stocks also punished-Taiwan, where the Weighted Average shed 17.84 to 6070.50.

Profit-taking among blue-chips in Singapore added to the Intel-inspired falls in electronics counters and the Straits Times index dipped 6.8 points to 1778.8.

An unexpected fall in unemployment numbers in Australia was seen as further evidence of a strong economic recovery, and late buying wiped out earlier falls to leave the All Ordinaries two points better at 3398.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite was down 2.18 to 752.33, Thailand's SET index off 0.52 to 378.09 and the Jakarta Composite 1.14 lower at 472.86.

Prices and indices in this section are supplied from various sources and calculated at different times and may not always match those listed in the tables.