Japanese Auto Stocks Cancel Out Gains in Tech Sector
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN ANCHOR: Now we're going to head to Hong Kong: Dalton Tanonaka standing by with a look at Asian markets -- Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning, Allan. Weakness in Japanese auto stocks canceled out gains in the tech sector in Tokyo trading. Carmakers hit by the rise in the yen to a near three-month high of 118.40 to the dollar. Dealers say if the yen continues to strengthen at its current pace, it will erode the revenues of Japanese carmakers and other exporters. Mazda Motor fell 3.3 percent -- the Nikkei closing near the break-even point to end the trading week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed a quarter of 1 percent weaker after an index reshuffling -- now included in the index: China's No. 2 mobile phone company, China Unicom and Hong Kong subway operator MTRC. Both stocks fell after a steady run-up since last month's announcement of their new blue-chip status. Taipei's weighted price index slipped two-thirds of 1 percent on concerns over upcoming announcements of corporate sales. Analysts expect most listed firms to post weak sales totals for May because of the continuing effects of the global slowdown. And that is a summary of the market day here in Asia -- back to you, Allan, in New York.</s>CHERNOFF: Thank you, Dalton. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com