TOKYO, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended lower Wednesday, pressured by weakness in technology issues and driving the Nikkei Stock Average down to a close just above its low for the year.
The blue-chip Nikkei Stock Average, which rose 59.79 points Tuesday, fell 166.72 points, or 2 percent, to 8,344.01. The Nikkei's lowest close for the year, at 8,303.39, came on Nov. 14.
The broader Topix Index, which added 4.10 points in the previous session, fell 16.18 points, or 1.9 percent, to 815.74.
Declines hammered advances, 1,253 to 161, while another 82 issues settled unchanged.
Volume improved slightly to an estimated 679.99 million shares from 672.71 million shares changing hands Tuesday.
Analysts said stocks fell with some weak corporate news out of the United States helping push the market down.
Overall pessimism toward the market was exacerbated by news that U.S. insurer Conseco had filed for bankruptcy, as well as a report by chip giant Micron Technology of September-November results that disappointed analysts.
Against that backdrop, chip related shares in Tokyo suffered.
In trading, chip testing equipment maker Advantest plunged 4.4 percent and Tokyo Electron dropped 2.6 percent.
With the market trending ever weaker, brokerage house shares were hit as well. The stock of Daiwa Holdings Group dropped 3.3 percent while Nikko Cordial fell 4.6 percent.
With some market watchers worried that the Conseco news could weigh on the U.S. dollar, export-related shares ended mostly lower.
Among the auto shares, Toyota, Nissan and Honda all declined by more than 2.0 percent.
Elsewhere, Sony lost 1.4 percent, Sharp tumbled 4.4 percent and Sanyo Electric fell 3.9 percent.
Banks remained under pressure. Mizuho Holdings sank 6.8 percent, Mitsubishi Tokyo dropped 5.8 percent and UFJ Holdings dropped 3.7 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, prices ended at a fresh six week low on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index, which rose 59.28 points during the previous session, dropped 167.09 points, or 1.7 percent, to 9,548.65 -- its lowest level since Nov. 1.
Analysts said the market came under pressure as conglomerate Wheelock and Co. Ltd. dropped 6.9 percent after unveiling an internal restructuring that disappointed investors.
Most blue-chip stocks traded lower with the looming threat of a U.S.-led war against Iraq unnerving investors, but China's largest offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd. bucked the downtrend, rising 1.5 percent on a rise in oil prices.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific Airways fell 2.7 percent, exporter Li & Fung lost 2.5 percent and Johnson Electric fell 3.2 percent.
Prices ended higher on the South Korean Stock Exchange. The Korean Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, which rose 12.07 points during the previous session, added 4.73 points, or 0.7 percent, to 709.22 ahead of Thursday's presidential election.
Investors are paying close attention to the election, which is a race between liberal candidate Roh Moo-hyun and conservative opposition head Lee Hoi-chang. The results could turn on whether the country's voters prefer a soft approach or a tough line on their neighbor North Korea's quest for nuclear arms.
Gains were led by Hynix Semiconductor, which rallied 7 percent after the local media reported that the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, which is fighting to retain the presidency in polls, might consider supporting minority shareholders of the world's third largest computer memory-chip maker.
Prices ended slightly lower on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The Weighted Price Index, which eased 36.43 points Tuesday, slipped 9.69 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,535.93.
In trading, United Microelectronics declined 1.7 percent while Macronix International lost 2.2 percent.
Elsewhere around the Pacific region, prices ended little changed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The blue-chip All Ordinaries Index, which gained 35.40 points during the previous session, slipped 0.30 point, to 2,957.00.
