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Asian stocks close sharply lower
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian stocks closed sharply lower Monday, as selling fever gripped the region. Big banks led the falls in Japan. Tokyo's Nikkei average ended the day down 2.65 percent, tumbling below 8,500 points to 8,460.37. The broader Topix fared even worse, off 2.93 percent to 837.19. Heavy losses among bank stock losses drove the market down. UFJ Holdings plunged almost 15 percent and Mizuho Holdings dropped 12.4 percent. The broader picture was similar throughout Asia, with Taiwan off more than 3 percent, South Korea down 2.5 percent and Hong Kong off just under 2 percent. Australia lost 1.2 percent, New Zealand dipped a relatively mild 0.4 percent and Singapore closed off almost 1.45 percent. Asian investors responded to a second day of weakness in U.S. markets on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending down 0.57 percent and Nasdaq lopping off 1.27 percent. (Full story) Banks lead Tokyo sellingIn Tokyo, UFJ was the worst of the banks, down 23,000 yen to 134,000 yen. But Mizuho was not far off, down 21,000 yen to 148,000 yen.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. lost almost 7 percent to 415 yen and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group slipped 44,000 yen or 5.6 percent to 743,000 yen. Cell-phone company KDDI also fell hard, off 9.2 percent to 315,000 yen. The country's No. 2 cell phone company said Friday it tripled earnings in the first half of the year, but saw a slide in sales. UBS Warburg cut its rating on the company on Monday. (Full story) KDDI's bigger rival NTT DoCoMo also stumbled, off 6.17 percent to 213,000 yen. Among carmakers, Honda fell almost 5 percent, Toyota lost 2.2 percent and Nissan fell a relatively mild 1.5 percent. They and other major exporters such as Sony (off 5 percent) and Toshiba (down 8.3 percent) were battered by the threat from a strong currency. New figures showed that Japan's current account surplus shrank for September. (Full story) The yen is trading at 119.84 to the U.S. dollar, after its sudden surge below 120 on Friday. Officials in Japan say the strengthening move isn't warranted by Japan's economy. Australia seen slowingIn Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.19 percent to 2,972.9, with media giant News Corp. down 1.9 percent to A$11.30. Big caps and bank stocks fell after the central Reserve Bank of Australia warned the country's economy would likely weaken in the months ahead. (Full story) Telecom stock Telstra dipped 1.9 percent to A$4.60 and BHP Billiton fell 2.2 percent. CBA led the bank falls, off 2.7 percent to A$26.56. New Zealand's Top 40 closed down 0.4 percent at 1,948.52. Telecom New Zealand dipped 0.21 percent lower to NZ$4.81. Hang Seng reshuffled in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended down 1.94 percent to 9,580.88. Investors factored in a reorganization of the 33-stock Hang Seng index involving Hysan Development, down 4.76 percent to HK$6.00, and Hang Lung Group, off 2.58 percent to HK$6.80. Both property developers are being dropped from the index on December 2, making way for the Bank of China (Hong Kong) and retailer Esprit Holdings. (Full story) Those new members of the index came back in afternoon trade, Bank of China closing up a modest 0.61 percent to HK$8.20, with Esprit level at HK$13.50. Market heavyweight HSBC was down 1.98 percent fall to HK$86.50. Korean exporters off on wonIn Seoul, South Korea's benchmark Kospi index lost 2.53 percent to 657.78. Exporters such as Samsung Electronics fell, with the chipmaker off 2.92 percent at 349,000 won, hit by a stronger won. Cell-phone company SK Telecom lost 4.23 percent to 226,500 and Hyundai Motor, Korea's largest car company, dipped 4.6 percent to 29,850 won. Kookmin Bank, the country's largest retail bank, lost 3.67 percent to 40,650 won as investors worry about the strength of the Korean economy and higher consumer debt levels. Taiwan techs lowerTaiwan's Taiex fell 3.04 percent to 4,664.65, reacting mainly to Nasdaq's fall from Friday. Chip foundry UMC slipped 6.67 percent to T$26.60, with larger rival TSMC off 6.47 percent to T$47.70. Selected industrials rose, with Taiwan Cement and Asia Cement up 4.6 percent and 5.9 percent respectively. Singapore's Straits Times index ended down 1.45 percent at 1,405.18, preliminary figures show, with sound card maker Creative Technology down 3.7 percent to S$13.00. Banks were also lower, with United Overseas Bank off 2.34 percent to S$12.50 and DBS down 2.59 percent to S$11.30.
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