CP: Asian shares tumble as more negative U.S. news expected
HONG KONG -- Asian shares tumbled Friday as hopes faded for fresh Chinese stimulus measures and investors braced for a key U.S. unemployment report expected to show further massive job losses.
Tokyo fell 3.5 percent and Hong Kong ended down 2.4 percent as investors took their cue from Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 4.09 percent Thursday to finish at its lowest level since April 1997.
“Sell-off pressure is not expected to end soon, as the outlook over Wall Street and regional markets remains bearish,” DBS director Peter Lai told Dow Jones Newswires in Hong Kong.
The markets were hit by a wave of negative news, including a stark warning from General Motors that it faced possible bankruptcy.
Investors were braced for a dismal U.S. jobs report later in the day that was expected to show a further 650,000 job losses as the world's largest economy sinks further into recession.
Disappointment also set in after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced no fresh stimulus steps in an annual address on Thursday.
“The market had also hoped to hear news from China on new stimulus measures,” said Kazuhiro Takahashi at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Tokyo. “But nothing clear came out.”
Shanghai slipped 1.26 percent, Sydney fell 1.4 percent, Singapore shed 0.36 percent and Seoul ended 0.3 percent lower.
TOKYO: Down 3.5 percent. The Nikkei-225 dropped 260.39 points to end at 7,173.10, just above a 26-year closing low of 7,162.90 in October.
Banks and insurers were under pressure. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial declined 4.8 percent to 401 yen and Mizuho Financial fell 4.9 percent to 176.
HONG KONG: Down 2.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index fell 289.72 points to 11,921.52, led lower by banks and Wall Street.
But the lack of fresh economic stimulus measures from China could be interpreted as a good thing, said Foo Choy Peng, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian.
“Beijing's current reading of its own problems may not be as bad as the outside world thinks. In this sense, an absence of new stimulus can be cast in a positive light,” he said.
SYDNEY: Down 1.4 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 43 points to 3,145.5.
“The 'doom and gloom' clouds cast a shadow over our local market,” said IG Markets analyst Chris Weston.
SHANGHAI: Down 1.26 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 28.07 points to 2,193.01.
SEOUL: Down 0.3 percent. The KOSPI index slipped 3.15 points to 1,055.03.
SINGAPORE: Down 0.36 percent. The main Straits Times Index dropped 5.52 points to 1,513.12.
KUALA LUMPUR: Down 1.3 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 11.02 points to 858.22 following declines on Wall Street and a record drop in the country's exports.
BANGKOK: Up 0.58 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index rose 2.40 points to close at 419.51.
JAKARTA: Down 0.1 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 1.38 points to 1,286.69 in thin trade ahead of a long holiday weekend.
MANILA: Down 0.2 percent. The composite index slipped 4.14 points to 1,920.16 points after a two-day rally.
MUMBAI: Up 1.56 percent. The 30-share Sensex index rose 127.9 points to 8,325.82 on bargain hunting as local funds bought index heavyweights, but global economic concerns loomed, dealers said.
WELLINGTON: Down 0.82 percent. The NZX-50 index fell 20.36 points to 2,471.04.
