Autos, financials slammed as U.S. forces Wagoner out; resource stocks slump Asian markets tumbled Monday as risk-averse investors dumped equities on reports the Obama administration has forced the departure of General Motors Corp.'s chief executive and suggested a "quick and surgical" bankruptcy for struggling U.S. car makers. Japanese stocks, which were down moderately earlier in the day after Friday's retreat on Wall Street, were hit by a large wave of selling in the afternoon. Automobile and financial stocks fell sharply, with Mizuho Financial Group slammed after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell from neutral. Hefty gains for the yen also weighed on exporters. In Hong Kong, a profit warning by Aluminum Corp. of China and a weak outlook for commodity prices dragged down metal and energy stocks. Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Main First Securities, said reports about the U.S. government's views on the auto makers saw the "U.S. dollar weakening and people moving out of equities and into other forms of investments, looking for security." Japan's Nikkei 225 Average finished down 4.5% at 8236.08, after rising 8.6% last week. Negative news flows continued with official data showing Japan's industrial production fell for a fifth straight month in February, dropping 9.4% from the previous month and 38.4% from a year earlier. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.9%, New Zealand's NZX-50 gave up 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi fell 3.2% and Taiwan's Taiex declined 3.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 4.7%, while an index of China-related stocks skidded 6.9%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.7%. In afternoon trading, India's Sensex fell 4.5%, and Singapore's Straits Times lost 4.8%. The slump came after reports said the Obama administration used the threat of withholding more bailout money to force out GM CEO Rick Wagoner. In a summary of its findings, a task force on the auto industry also said it doesn't believe Chrysler LLC is viable as a stand-alone company, and suggested the best chance of success for GM and Chrysler may require "utilizing the bankruptcy code in a quick and surgical way." The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were recently down nearly 200 points. Shares of Honda Motor ended down 6.7% and Nissan Motor lost 7.7%, while Hyundai Motor gave up 3.8% in Seoul. Among financials, Mizuho Financial Group sank 8.8% in Tokyo after Goldman Sachs cut its rating, saying the banking major "has amongst the lowest loss absorption capacity" because of its high exposure to equity markets. "With domestic trading cues absent, weakness in U.S. stock futures and Asian shares is dragging down Nikkei futures and cash stocks," said Daiwa Securities SMBC market analyst Yumi Nishimura. Elsewhere, KB Financial Group skidded 6.6% in Seoul, China Construction Bank plunged 9.6% and HSBC Holdings fell 2.5% in Hong Kong, DBS Group Holdings sank 4.6% in Singapore and ICICI Bank plummeted 10.4% in Mumbai. Resource stocks were slammed as crude-oil prices slid and a weak outlook for prices weighed down steelmakers. Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chalco, stumbled 12% in Hong Kong and slid 3.8% in Shanghai, after the company's 2008 profit plunged 99.9% and forecast losses in the quarter ending March 31. Chalco added that its chairman and chief executive, Xiao Yaqing, has also resigned last week immediate effect. Cnooc lost 6.2% and Angang Steel gave up 9.4% in Hong Kong, Kobe Steel fell 7.8% in Tokyo and Woodside Petroleum lost 4.4% in Sydney.

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