By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks fell sharply Thursday, led down by technology-related companies such as Elpida Memory in the wake of a gloomy outlook from Intel Corp., while commodity producers also tanked as data suggested China could be the next domino to fall in the global slowdown. Selling pressure accelerated in the afternoon session, pushing several major regional indexes down 5% or more, after data showed China's industrial production growth decelerated to 8.2% in October from 11.4% in September. "It raises the prospect of recession in China," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior investment strategist with CFC Seymour in Hong Kong, adding he expects the mainland's industrial output to contract in the fourth quarter against the preceding three-month period. "This is a real negative for Asia, because a lot countries rely heavily upon exports to China for their growth." Shares of Mizuho Financial Group were down 5.1% after the Nikkei newspaper reported the bank is considering issuing preferred securities to Japanese insurance companies in an effort to raise about 300 billion ($3.2 billion) in new capital this year. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ended 5.5% lower at 8,238.64, nearing nominal parity with the Dow Jones Industrial index. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 finished 5% lower, at a four-year low, and South Korea's Kospi declined 3.2%, paring back earlier declines after being down more than 7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 5.2% lower, Indonesia's JSX Composite gave up 5%, and Taiwan's Taiex index was down 3.9%. On a different note, China's Shanghai Composite ended 3.7% higher at 1,927.61, adding to modest gains in the previous session. Today's gains mark Shanghai as the only major regional benchmark to rise during the last two sessions. "Investors in mainland China are speculating on further policies from the Chinese government to stimulate the economy," said Marco Mak, head of research at Tai Fook Securities in Hong Kong. Among the few gainers in Hong Kong were China Railway Group whose shares rose 0.6%. Analyst said Thursday's grim industrial data may spur officials to speed up implementation of the 4 trillion yuan stimulus plan in an effort to prop up growth in the fourth quarter. "Non-government sponsored investment just collapsed in October," said Dong Tao, chief regional economist with Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, referring to China's industrial output data. He added the slowing output growth was a concern as declines in jobs growth and income generation would fan social unrest. In other regional action, Singapore's Straits Times Index was down 1.6%, New Zealand's NZX-50 slipped 1.5% and Thailand's SET Index was down 0.5%. Among the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum's shares ended down 7.7%. Sydney-listed miners were also caught in the downdraft from overnight declines in industrial metals and energy prices, as shares of BHP Billiton fell 11.7% and Rio Tinto was down 8,2%. The front-month contract for light sweet crude oil slipped as much as 10 cents to $56.06 a barrel in electronic trading. Concerns about a slowdown in demand helped push crude-oil prices to a 21-month low in Nymex trading Wednesday, where the contract closed down $3.17, or 5.3%, at $56.16. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar eased to 96.05 yen, compared with the upper-97 yen level in late Tokyo trading Wednesday. In Hong Kong action, shares of market operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing fell 7.9% after reporting third-quarter net income fell 43% from a year earlier, mainly because of declining turnover. Australian banking stocks were led down by Westpac Banking Corp whose shares fell 6.4%, on concerns it may see reduced income from its wealth management arm. Of movers in the technology sector, shares in Elpida Memory Inc. fell 13.3%, while Sony Corp. was down 8.7%, and NEC Electronics sank 7.6%. Intel Corp.Wednesday cut its fourth-quarter revenue expectations, becoming the latest technology firm to pare its outlook following similar moves by hardware makers such as Dell Inc. , spurring concerns about the impact of the global slowdown upon the sector. See full story. Japanese exporters were also broadly lower after the yen fell to the upper-94 level in U.S. trading overnight. The Japanese currency managed to claw back some of the lost ground Thursday, rising to the lower-96 level against the dollar in late Tokyo trade, although the gains in the U.S. dollar weren't enough to inspire confidence in the rebound. "Two yen movements in a single day are not a surprise," said Masafumi Yamamoto, a currency strategist with RBS in Tokyo, adding he expects the Japanese currency to trade in at the 93 level against the dollar in coming days. Shares of Toyota Motor Corp ended down 4.2%, while those of Nissan Motor Co. were down 7.2%.

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