DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to get a look at Asian trading. And for that we go to Michelle Han, live in our studios in Hong Kong -- hello, Michelle.</s>MICHELLE HAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deborah, good morning. Well, markets in Tokyo lacked direction on Thursday, as traders sold off tech stocks, but bought up shares of old-economy shares. The Nikkei spent most of the day in the red, closing down just under a half a cent, slightly off session lows -- one of the biggest losers there mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo. Despite reporting stronger-than-expected profits late Wednesday, its stock fell more than 3 percent. Traders in Hong Kong were a bit optimistic, sending the Hang Seng up slightly on moderate volume. Interest rate sensitive stocks continue to be in favor, ahead of an expected rate cut in the U.S. next week. And, in Seoul, hopes of an economic turnaround sent auto stocks climbing: strong earnings from bankrupt Daewoo Motor sales didn't hurt either. The KOSPI picked up almost half of a percent. And strong buying in tech shares helped power the technology-laden KOSDAQ up more than 2 percent. In Australia, traders were treated to some strong corporate earnings, as well as speculation of a major corporate buyout. The Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 picked up nearly 1.25 percent, helped by shares of the country's largest bank. National Australia Bank stocks surged 1.85 percent after reporting its first-half profit, which soundly beat market forecasts. And that's the business day here in Asia -- back to you, Deb, in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right, thank you, Michelle. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Tokyo Markets Lack Direction; Hong Kong Traders Optimistic