The Coming Week in Asia: They Might Be Electronic Giants (But Their Stocks Aren't So Hot)

TOKYO -- Talk about hefty promises. Sony (SNE Quote), Japan's top consumer electronics and game maker, promises that kids of all ages will tap into the World Wide Web by using its flagship PlayStation 2 game console. Rival Matsushita Electric Industrial (MC Quote) insists Japanese consumers are dying to be able to check how many eggs they have left in the fridge via their mobile phones.

The ideas are catchy enough to make Japanese technophiles giddy, but investors are being cautious. The market gobbled up shares of Matsushita and Sony when the Internet tsunami hit Japan's shores last year, but with the dot-com selloff, these stocks, too, have languished. Sony's American depository receipts -- shares of the company that trade in the U.S. -- are down 34% from their highs this spring, while Matsushita's ADRs are 14% off their highs.

Sony and Matsushita will release fiscal first-quarter results in the coming week, and at this point, nobody is expecting any miracles. With investors still licking their wounds from the global tech shakeout earlier this year, many players are waiting around for Sony and Matsushita's new Net ideas to turn into profits before they plunk any more change into shares. ...