Asia news 02/08/08

-Fast alle geschlossen wegen TET (Neujahrs fest)

-NIK grössere technische Probleme bei future gGestellung/Verkauf = kein hedging möglich = Verkauf

-NIK Maschinenebauer auf Grund der US Lage schwer verkauft = -

Montag geschlossen

HK & China & Vietnam = Feiertag

TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average extended losses to 1.2 percent on Friday as investors sold machinery stocks such as Fanuc Ltd (6954.T: Quote, Profile, Research) on weak industry data and a halt in TOPIX futures trade limited the ability to hedge.

Traders said they were also wary of holding stocks over the three-day weekend, especially in view of recent volatility on Wall Street. All Japanese financial markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday, National Foundation Day.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange said during the midday break that it would halt trade in March TOPIX futures JTCIc1 for the rest of the session because of a system glitch. Futures contracts are often used by investors to hedge their positions.

"Investors are holding back trade for now because of the system problem," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management, adding that weaker-than-expected machinery orders data were also weighing on the market.

"The machinery data is unlikely to be a big sell-off factor, though recently the market tends to react sharply to any negative news," he said.