Tokyo shares close lower, led by technology after NASDAQ falls, poor data

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Share prices closed lower, led by technology stocks, after the sharp declines on NASDAQ overnight, and with poor industrial output data this morning sparking profit-taking in the broader market, dealers said.    They said the combination of poor economic figures and the renewed downturn in U.S. high-techs undermined recent confidence that the market had hit bottom and would likely see a sharp recovery.    The Nikkei 225 index closed down 693.15 points, or 5.04 pct, at its low for the day of 13,072.36, off a high of 13,620.07. Volume was an estimated 735 mln shares.    The Topix was down 52.09 points at 1,285.20, while the Nikkei 300 finished 11.46 points lower at 258.99.    The Nikkei June futures contract was down 670 points at 13,050 on the Osaka exchange and at 13,105 on the SGX.    There were 1,032 decliners and 336 gainers,with 96 stocks unchanged.    Nortel's overnight profit warning, along with a warning from Palm, hit technology shares and optic fibre companies, dealers said.    Furukawa Electric fell 168 yen to 1,312, with Sumitomo Electric shedding 69 to 1,461, while Fujikura was down 21 at 810 and Hitachi Cable 60 lower at 780.    Among other NASDAQ-sensitive stocks, Rohm lost 1,410 to 20,900, with Advantest declining 970 to 12,930 and TDK off 650 at 8,150.    Fujitsu was down 105 at 1,655, while NEC fell 68 to 1,977.    NEC said at a briefing today that it expects its e-business services to make a profit in the year to March 2002 after breaking even in the current fiscal year, by focusing on corporate value-added services.    This morning's industrial output data, which showed a weaker-than-expected result, also pressured the market, hurting cyclicals, dealers said.	    The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said industrial output in February rose 0.4 pct month-on-month after a fall of 4.2 pct in January, compared with the consensus forecast of a month-on-month rise of 1.9 pct.     "This is only the beginning of the production and inventory adjustment," ABN Amro economist Vincent Musumeci said. "Export demand has only just begun to fall and a recovery in the U.S. household sector is still far off.    He added: "The next negative impact on production and inventories will be declining domestic investment demand and a further weakening of household sector fundamentals.    "Until a turnaround point in external demand can be confirmed, production is likely to continue to decline."    However, some economists noted that firms appear to be reacting quickly to inventory build-ups, providing some hope that the downward adjustment will be relatively short. The inventory-to-shipments ratio fell 0.7 pct month-on-month.    Kirin Brewery was down 28 at 1,130, while Ajinomoto fell 38 to 1,334. Shin Etsu Chemical fell 330 to 4,320.        Mitsubishi Motors fell 11 to 354 after the company revised its year to March net loss forecast to 270 bln yen from the previous estimate of a loss of 140 bln due to special restructuring costs.    Tokyo Mitsubishi Securities senior analyst Hideaki Aonuma described the latest measures as "too orthodox" compared with the Nissan Revival Plan announced in 1999.    "The company is still suffering from the aftermath of its recall problem which devastated its corporate brand image, as is evident in its sales data," which continues to show sharp year-on-year declines, he said.    Mitsubishi Heavy fell 26 to 465 after increasing its year to March loss forecast in line with Mitsubishi Motors.    Nissan was down 14 at 805, while Honda was down 160 at 4,970 and Toyota fell 170 to 4,420. The auto sector has seen sharp gains recently as it is expected to be a beneficiary of a weaker yen.    Sony was down 380 at 8,970 ahead of the announcement of details of its broadband strategy for the upcoming fiscal year, with the company unveiling plans for the U.S., as well as an internal restructuring of its sectors.    NTT was down 39,000 at 830,000 ahead of an announcement by NTT Communications over a tie-up with Microsoft Corp on the latter's planned Xbox home entertainment console.    

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