GM: Asian stock markets fall after Wall Street tumbles
HONG KONG — Asian stocks market dropped Friday, with benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong sliding around 2 percent, after trenchant economic fears sent Wall Street tumbling to its lowest close in more than six years.
Investors found few reasons to wade into the market after the Dow Jones breached the levels it marked in November when the financial crisis sent global equities into a tailspin.
The Dow's miserable finish — its lowest since Oct. 9, 2002, when the last bear market touched bottom — spurred fears the markets' downturn is far from over. It also provided a clear sign that investors don't see an immediate end to the worst global slowdown in decades despite the unprecedented economic measures taken by governments around the world.
"People just don't know where the bottom is," said Desmond Tjiang, Hong Kong-based chief investment officer at Fortis Investment Management, which manages $3 billion in Asian equities.
"The macro indicators are still deteriorating, the companies aren't giving any guidance and the governments don't know what they're going to do," Tjiang said. "Basically nobody has any visibility or knows what's going to happen."
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 146.56 points, or 1.9 percent, to 7,411.09, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 310.85, or 2.4 percent, to 12,712.51. South Korea's Kospi shed 3.9 percent to 1,064.40.
Markets in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan lost about 1 percent or more.
In mainland China, where markets have rallied this year in response to government stimulus measures, Shanghai's benchmark gained 0.6 percent. Mainland bourses, largely restricted to foreign investors and heavily regulated, often move out of sync with global markets.
Overnight in New York, the Dow lost 89.68, or 1.2 percent, to end at 7,465.95, with broader indices slipping as well.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended down 9.48, or 1.2 percent, to 778.94. The index finished above its Nov. 20 close of 752.44, which was its worst finish since April 1997.
The dollar continued its advance, strengthening to 94.11 yen from 94.06 yen late Thursday in New York. The euro fell to $1.2614, down from $1.2561.
In oil, light, sweet crude sank 55 cents to $38.93 per barrel in Asian trade. The contract jumped overnight, rising 7 percent, or $2.77, to settle at $40.18 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The vast majority of trades have shifted to the April contract with the March contract expiring Friday. - AP
