THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Disappointing results from one of Asia's most profitable airlines surprised investors. We get details from Dalton Tanonaka live in Hong Kong. Hi, Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Deborah. One of Asia's biggest regional air carriers reported interim results that came in well below market estimates. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific made 169 million U.S. dollars in profits in the first half, but that's 30 percent lower than analysts had expected and that shot its stock price down more than 6 percent taking the Hang Seng down to a two-year low. The index had held steady for most of this day with the banking sector providing much of the support. But late selling in the final hour of trading pushed it into negative territory closing down 4 tenths of 1 percent and below the 12000 level for the first time in more than two years. Late selling also hit Tokyo with the tech sector hardest hit there. TDK sold off sharply after it reported quarterly earnings late Tuesday. Chip stocks also took a beating following a series of downgrades of U.S. semiconductor companies by brokerage house CSFB. And that is how the business day went here in Asia. Back to you, Deb, in New York.</s>MARCHINI: Dalton, thank you. Dalton Tanonaka in our Hong Kong bureau. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Asian Markets Down to a Two-Year Low