Tencent Q3 revenue down 2pc on-year

Revenue for Chinese tech giant Tencent fell 2 percent year on year in the third quarter, the company said Wednesday, as Beijing's regulatory crackdown on video games and the tech sector hit earnings.

The Hong Kong-listed company, which is the world's top video game maker and the owner of popular super-app WeChat, posted revenues of 140 billion yuan ($19 billion) in the third quarter, according to a stock exchange filing.

It is Tencent's second quarterly decline in revenue in a row, as the company grapples with tightened regulations.

The company said domestic video games in particular saw a 7 percent decrease in the three months ending September 30, "as transitional industry challenges resulted in lower paying user counts".

Profit attributable to equity holders was up 1 percent in the third quarter, with the company saying on Wednesday it had implemented "business rationalisation and cost efficiency initiatives".

Tokyo stocks traded lower Monday despite overnight gains on Wall Street, with investors locking in profits after an upbeat end to last week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened higher but was down 0.24 percent, or 68.08 points, at 28,195.49 in morning trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.44 percent, or 8.64 points, at 1,969.12.

The Nikkei advanced nearly three percent on Friday, driven by hopes for less aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes due to slowing US inflation that pushed up markets worldwide.

"In reaction to strong rallies in the previous session, Japanese markets are starting with losses," said Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama.

Although last week's lower-than-expected US inflation data was good news for investors, the global rallies "probably extended beyond what is justified by the (economic) fundamentals", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

The dollar fetched 139.35 yen, against 138.7 yen in New York late Friday-a retreat from the multi-decade highs of beyond 151 yen hit by the dollar last month.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group plunged 10.83 percent to 6,200 yen after the investment giant posted a net profit in the second quarter but a net loss in the first half.

Toshiba was down 2.36 percent at 4,833 yen, after the conglomerate cut its annual net profit and operating targets due to one-off charges. Its executives did not comment on the group's potential takeover process.

Olympus plunged 8 percent to 2,845.5 yen after it cut its full-year operating profit forecast and reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter operating profit.

Honda was down 0.69 percent at 3,312 yen, shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was off 0.80 percent at 3,095 yen, and Japan Airlines was down 2.04 percent at 2,637 yen. -AFP