HONG KONG, Oct 6: Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday with heavy selling gaining the momentum amid the prospect that interest rates in the United States will head higher than anticipated, dealers said.
They said no markets were exempt from the sell-off with investors being forced to change tack on the belief that the current cycle of rising interest rates would soon end.
That belief had held until Tuesday when three US regional Federal Reserve bank presidents warned the central bank would likely continue raising short term rates to keep inflationary pressures at bay.
Alarm bells over inflation have been ringing since Hurricane Katrina struck at the end of August, causing severe damage to American oil interests and sent the price crude to record levels, which is now feeding into inflation.
That coupled with weak US economic data routed Wall Street overnight and share markets in the Asia Pacific region followed suit.
Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and Hong Kong all slumped more than two per cent while Singapore and New Zealand were not far behind. Less substantial falls were registered elsewhere.
TOKYO: Share prices tumbled in tandem with markets around Asia and in New York as investors fretted that further US interest rate rises will put the brakes on global growth.
The Nikkei-225 index fell 330.38 points or 2.41 per cent to 13,359.51, the biggest one-day decline for six months, on turnover of 2.8 billion shares.
“A slump in the US stock market triggered the fall here even though there had been concerns over recent overheating of the market,” said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
In the chip sector, Hitachi plunged 37 yen to 720, Fujitsu lost 40 yen to 771, Oki Electric Industry tumbled 21 yen to 388 and Mitsubishi Electric shed 44 yen to 700.
Oil-related shares also lost ground as Showa Shell Sekiyu KK retreated 99 yen to 1,425, Nippon Oil closed down 42 yen to 935 and Cosmo Oil shed 24 yen to 553. In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial Group fell 39,000 yen to 661,000.
HONG KONG: Share prices plunged more than 2.0 per cent after concerns over inflation and the prospect of higher interest rates triggered heavy falls on Wall Street overnight.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 321.73 points or 2.12 per cent to 14,839.30 and has fallen nearly 590 points or 3.8 per cent so far this week. Turnover was 26 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.33 billion US).
Sun Hung Kai Properties lost 2.30 at 77.30, Cheung Kong fell 1.85 to 83.75 and Henderson Land was down 0.85 at 37.55. HSBC was down 1.20 at 123.90, Bank of East Asia down 0.10 at 22.75.
Oil stocks were lower as oil prices softened further with PetroChina losing 0.20 at 6.15, Sinopec down 0.125 at 3.375 and CNOOC falling 0.25 at 5.15.
SYDNEY: Share prices slumped another 2.12 per cent as heavy losses continued in an “overextended” market amid fears that interest rates in the United States will head higher.
The SP/ASX 200 fell 96.2 points to 4,447.3, adding losses to the largest one-day fall in more than three years recorded Wednesday.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 1.57 per cent lower as investors took profits following the sell-off in US markets overnight on concerns interest rates are set to rise further.
The Straits Times Index fell 36.42 points to 2,289.47. Volume totalled 1.3 billion shares worth 1.2 billion Singapore dollars (710 million US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 0.14 per cent lower after overnight falls on Wall Street although plantation stocks continued to attract support after positive comment on the palm oil industry outlook.
The composite index shed 1.26 points to 926.25 and volume traded was 467.83 million shares, worth 779.87 million ringgit (206.82 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 0.70 per cent lower on profit-taking following the market’s extended rally over the past five trading sessions, with a recent rate hike by the central bank beginning to dampen sentiment.
The composite index closed down 7.679 points at 1,096.376 on volume of 803.72 million shares worth 1.17 trillion rupiah (115.56 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 1.17 per cent lower in line with sharp falls on Wall Street and other world markets amid fears of rising interest rates.
The NZSX-50 index fell 40.42 points to 3,406.00 on turnover of 127 million dollars (88.6 million US). Of 156 stocks traded, 104 fell and just 12 rose.
MUMBAI: Shares prices slumped more than two per cent alongside a regional sell-off in equities amid weaker economic growth in the US and the prospect of higher interest rates.
The Sensex index fell 195.77 points or 2.24 per cent to 8,528.70. Turnover was a moderate 37.10 billion rupees (847 million dollars).—AFP
