Sparkling Samsung's record show

IT is hard to imagine that today's first-quarter figures from Samsung Electronics could have been any better. The most valuable electronics company in Asia by market capitalisation said net profit surged to a record and added that the outlook remained bullish.

But South Korean investors had no sooner read through the release than they marked Samsung shares 18,000 won or 2.9% lower to 597,000. It was a classic case of players bidding up a stock in the days preceding a decent set of figures, then taking profits when their bullish hopes were confirmed.

Samsung is a the leading player in the hi-tech field and its performance is regarded as a yardstick for conditions across the sector. It said that net profit was 3.14 trillion won (£1.52bn) better in the first three months of the year than the forecasts of brokers' number crunchers who had predicted an average of 3bn won. Turnover was 14.4 trillion won against 9.6 trillion in the year-ago period.

Samsung said: ' We expect strong second-quarter results on global economic expansion and a stable business structure.'

Analysts suggest the stock could yet have more upside. Investors who have held its shares since the start of the year have already seen the value of their stakes grow by more than third. Samsung's slide was echoed by the wider market as the Korea Composite index traded

14.03 points or 1.5% lower at 902.28. Kookmin Bank, among the largest lenders, gave up 4% to 45,400 won on fears of large losses at its card unit.

Hong Kong shares continued to slide as fears persisted that monetary policy in the US could be tightened over the summer, earlier than had been expected just weeks ago. The Hang Seng index retreated 55.03 points to 12,424.23 despite mild overnight gains for the Dow in New York.

The recent run of losses has pushed the 33-member benchmark into the red for this year despite evidence over the past three months that macro-economic conditions are improving. Banks - especially sensitive to sentiment on the direction of rates - gave up more ground. Global lender HSBC dipped 50 cents to HK$115, affiliate Hang Seng Bank lost HK$1 to HK$97.75 and Bank of East Asia slumped 35 cents to HK$22.85.

The only signs of optimism came from select exporters. Johnson Electric, which manufacturers mini-motors, picked up five cents to HK$8.40 and sports shoe giant Yue Yuen Industrial firmed 15 cents to HK$21.15.

Conditions were brighter in Tokyo where yesterday's severe profit-taking gave way to bargain hunting. The Nikkei Stock Average, which fell 2.5% the previous session, rebounded to finish 24.16 points higher at 11,824.56.

Carmakers featured strongly on buyers' shopping lists. Honda Motor added 90 yen to 4760 yen, Nissan Motor gained 10 yen to 1171 and Toyota Motor advanced 70 yen to 3900.

Japanese car groups have proved especially adept in recent months at extending their sales reach in the US despite aggressive discounting by their American rivals seeking to guard their market share against erosion.

Singapore shares also showed their mettle, recovering from recent losses as investors bought back in. The Straits Times Index rose 12.1 points to 1856.48. SGX, the local stock exchange, added two cents to S$1.70 on reports of a possible equity and technology tie-up with its Malaysian counterpart.