Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

The Australian market was higher in early trade on Tuesday after Wall Street posted a small gain overnight. Alcoa kicked off the US earnings season with a better-than-expected report and it also raised its forecast for the metal consumption this year. The local market today rose more than 0.3 per cent shortly after the market opened.

Asian shares received mixed lead from Wall Street. Friday the US market closed flat after better-than-expected US retail sales and slightly lower consumer sentiment data. Meanwhile, financial shares erased some of their gains after rallies last week. Asian markets also closed mixed Friday. Japan's Nikkei was 0.8 per cent higher, led by Japanese exporters. But Shanghai and Hong Kong markets dropped as banks and mainland based real estate shares were hit by concerns over policy tightening amid rising inflation. Shanghai Composite fell to nearly a three week low.

The launch of 3G service in China has provided good opportunities for global telecom giants, such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (TYO:9432). The Japanese group will tap the China market by cooperating with China Mobile (HKG:0941), the largest cell phone carrier in China, to send Japanese manga in the country.

Asian markets are expected to be flat today before the US stimulus package is unveiled. Yesterday the major indexes in Asia closed mixed with Shanghai and Hong Kong extended the rising after China's stimulus plan announced last week, while Tokyo and Seoul declined.