JFE Holdings tumbles on word it'll shut down a blast furnace for repairs Asian markets mostly advanced Friday in thin holiday trading, with Japanese shares rising for a second session as Asahi Breweries climbed on a report the brewer was likely to beat its profit forecast, while exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp. extended gains as investors snapped them up before the end of the year. South Korean shares were dragged down by STX Shipbuilding Co. and other shipbuilders, while Chinese stocks in Shanghai dropped for a fifth straight session amid high volatility and thin trading volumes. Stock markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong were closed for the Boxing Day holiday in Asia. U.S. markets were closed Thursday for Christmas. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average ended 1.6% higher at 8,739.52 and the broader Topix index added 1.3% to 846.58 by late afternoon. The advance came in spite of a slew of weak industrial and unemployment data released Friday. Japan's industrial output fell by a record 8.1% in November from the previous month as Japanese automobile companies produced less automobiles and other machinery on weakening demand. The drop reportedly represents the biggest decline in industrial production since the government started releasing the data in 1953. Furthermore, Japan's seasonally-adjusted jobless rate climbed to 3.9% in November, rising 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The country's core consumer price index, meanwhile, rose a lower-than-expected 1% in November from the year-earlier period. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 1,851.52, Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.3% to 4,425.08 and South Korea's Kospi gave up 0.9% to 1,117.86. In afternoon trading, India's Sensitive Index gained 0.1% to 9,574.95 and Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.6% to 1,746.89, as trading resumed after Thursday's holiday. Regional detail In Tokyo, shares of Asahi Breweries rose 2.1% after the Nikkei business daily reported the company was likely to post a pretax profit of 98 billion yen ($1.09 billion) for 2008, exceeding the company's forecast of 95 billion yen, on lower sales promotion expenses. Shares of JFE Holdings slumped 5.7% after the steelmaker said it will suspend the operation of a blast furnace at its West Japan Works next month for repairs. In a note to clients, Nomura Securities analyst Y. Matsumoto noted that the furnace was unlikely to be restarted in 2009, adding that at the end of October, JFE's management said production was expected to drop about 500,000 tons, or about 3%, but the reduction now was estimated to be 4 million tons. "If [steel] production were to be cut by 4 million tons, we estimate the negative impact on recurring profits would be approximately 50 billion yen ($556 million), which corresponds to around 10% of our [financial year] forecast," Matsumoto wrote. Other steelmakers also dropped, with Nippon Steel Corp. losing 1.4% after the Nikkei reported the company was considering bring forward by a month repairs for one of its two blast furnaces scheduled initially in March. Shares of Japanese automakers advanced after sharp recent declines, with Toyota Motor Corp. rising 1.9% and Honda Motor Co. gaining 1.8%, while tire maker Bridgestone Corp. added 3.1%. Energy-related stocks rose as February crude-oil futures climbed $1.22 to $36.57 a barrel in electronic trading. Shares of energy producer Inpex Corp. rose 2.3%, while commodity trader Mitsubishi Corp. gained 3.3%. In Mumbai, shares of Cairn India gained 0.6%. In Seoul, shipbuilding stocks led the decline on concerns about slowing global economic growth and its impact on the industry, with STX Shipbuilding Co. losing 4.3% and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. dropping 2.4%. In Asian currency trading, the U.S. dollar purchased 90.49 yen, compared with 90.59 yen Wednesday.

Source