DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: It was a bit of a rough session overnight for the Asian markets. Dalton Tanonaka joins me now from Hong Kong with a report. Hi, Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deb. Here is a late corporate story. The Hong Kong Internet and telecom company, Pacific Century Cyberworks, is cutting 340 jobs as part of restructuring investors are apparently glad to see. The announcement sent the company's stock price soaring 7.7 percent. It had plummeted 83 percent in the past year fueled by souring market sentiment and confusion about the company's strategy. Overall, the Hang Seng index edged up one-tenth of one percent. But concerns over weak corporate earnings helped take most Asian markets lower in Wednesday trading. Tokyo stocks were hit, with the Nikkei falling 1.4 percent. The bank sector under pressure there after the "Minichi" newspaper reported that bad loans at Mizuho Holdings would grow after it adopts tighter assessment methods. The world's biggest banking group denied that report, but that didn't stop its share price from sliding 1.2 percent. UFJ Holdings lost 1.8 percent. Weak sales and bleak earnings prospects also weighed on Taiwan's stocks. The Taipei weighted index fell 2.1 percent. And among the most active stocks there -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's leading chip foundry. It fell one-and-a-half percent. Rival United Microelectronics slipped 1.1 percent. And that's the business day here in Asia. Back to you, Deb, in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right, Dalton, thanks so much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Rough Session Yesterday for Asian Markets