| "Chip prices have tumbled a lot already this year, and now that Micron says they'll fall another 30 per cent, the market can't help but respond,'' said Kim Young Hwan, who manages about $2.4 billion in equities at Mirae Asset Investment Management Co in Seoul. "We haven't seen the end of earnings downgrades.'' |
| The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Index dropped from a record high, losing 0.9 per cent to 404.44 as of 4:16 pm in Hong Kong. It broke a seven-day winning streak, the longest since November 7. Technology stocks fell 1.8 per cent, the most among the index's 10 industry groups. |
| China's Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index climbed 3.7 per cent, led by China Vanke Co after developer Finance Street Holding Co reported a surge in earnings. |
| Samsung, the world's No 1 computer-memory maker, lost 2.2 per cent to 572,000 won, dropping the most since January 26. United Microelectronics, the second-largest supplier of made-to-order chips, slid 1 per cent to NT$20.40. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the biggest contract electronics manufacturer, slid 2.6 per cent to NT$227. |
| US |
| US stock and index futures were little changed. Ciena Corp gained in Europe after Credit Suisse raised its recommendation for the maker of computer-networking equipment. |
| Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in March added 0.5 to 1443.40 at 8:45 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 9 to 12,623. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.5 to 1793. |
| US stocks dropped last week, led by banks after Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis President William Poole noted defaults in loans to risky borrowers and signalled interest rates may rise. |
| Europe |
| European stocks dropped to a one-week low on concern a slump in computer-chip prices will hurt earnings at technology companies, the region's second-biggest decliners this year. |
| The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slid 0.6 per cent to 378.05 as of 9:32 am in London. The Stoxx 50 declined 0.4 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, lost 0.6 per cent. |
| "Technology stocks are under pressure because of chip price concerns,'' said Kevin Lyne-Smith, an investment consultant at Julius Baer Holding's private banking division in Switzerland, which manages the equivalent of $100 billion. "There is generally poor sentiment in markets.'' |
| Concern about declining profit margins in the technology industry has sent a measure of their shares down 1 per cent so far in 2007. SAP, the world's largest business-management software maker, last month forecast the first decline in its profit margin in seven years. |
| National benchmarks fell in the 17 western European markets that were open. Germany's DAX lost 0.7 per cent and France's CAC 40 slid 0.8 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.4 per cent. |
| STMicroelectronics, Europe's biggest chipmaker, dropped 0.6 per cent to 14.64 euros. Misys, a UK provider of software for banks and hospital, fell 1.7 per cent to 242.25 pence. |
| ASML Holding, maker of the most expensive machines in chip fabrication, dropped 1.7 per cent to 19.36 euros. |
| Total, Europe's third-largest oil company, fell 1 per cent to 52.2 euros. Repsol, the region's fifth largest, declined 0.6 per cent to 25.15 euros. |
| Vodafone rose 1.2 per cent to 151 pence. The world's largest wireless carrier will buy control of Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-largest mobile phone company, to gain its first network in the world's fastest-growing wireless market. |
| Sanofi-Aventis rose 1.6 per cent to 68.55 euros. France's biggest drugmaker ended talks to take over Bristol-Myers Squibb Co because of its objection to the US company's market valuation at about $28 a share, the London-based Times reported on February 10, without saying where it got the information. |
| Rolls-Royce climbed 2.1 per cent to 513 pence. Merrill Lynch & Co added the world's second-largest aircraft-engine maker to its "Europe 1" list, citing solid results. |
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