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HONG KONG, Aug 1: Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday as the fallout from growing problems in US mortgages snagged one of Australia's highest flying banks and stoked concerns over how much the debacle may ultimately cost.
Dealers said Wall Street losses overnight sparked by trouble at another US company on its exposure to higher risk mortgage loans set the region up for a bad day just as it was recovering from last week's mayhem.
The tone was set in Sydney, down 3.3 per cent, where market favourite Macquarie Bank said two high-yielding funds faced losses of up to 300 million dollars (258 million US) because of the problems in US sub-prime home loans.
Shares in Macquarie Bank, known for its deal making and massive executive pay-checks, shed 10.7 per cent as a result, enough to prompt Australian Treasurer Peter Costello to offer assurances that all was well.
TOKYO: Japanese share prices slumped by more than two per cent with the Nikkei-225 index ending below 17,000 points for the first time in more than four months amid worries about the US economy.
Japanese exporter shares suffered owing to worries about the impact on their earnings of a stronger yen, which rose as speculators scaled back risky bets funded by selling the Japanese currency.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 377.91 points to 16,870.98. Turnover rose to 2.3 billion shares from 2.1 billion on Tuesday.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 3.15 per cent lower, with the main index suffering its biggest drop in five months, on fresh concerns over the US housing sector.
Selling was spread across the board, with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank among the stocks taking a hit after the two banks led a rally Tuesday following forecast-beating first-half results.
SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 3.3 per cent following Wall Street's tumble overnight on mounting nervousness over the US sub-prime mortgage market.
Macquarie Bank lost 8.80 dollars or 10.7 per cent to finish at 73.70 dollars, while one of its funds, Fortress, plunged 18 cents or 24 per cent to 57 cents.
SINGAPORE: Share prices skidded 3.27 per cent as concerns over the troubled US sub-prime mortgage market spooked investors.
The Straits Times Index dropped 115.95 points to 3,431.71 on volume of 4.94 billion shares worth 4.31 billion Singapore dollars (2.85 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 2.5 per cent lower due to the troubled US sub-prime mortgage market that sent shock waves through global markets.
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 3.9 per cent lower in line with other markets in the region in reaction to Wall Street's slide sparked by fresh housing and credit concerns.
Key losers included index heavyweight Telkom and major banking stocks after they led the market to a rebound Tuesday.
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 1.32 per cent lower as world markets tumbled again in the wake of Wall Street.
The NZX-50 index fell 54.91 points to 4,158.39 on turnover worth 156.5 million dollars (118.4 million US).
ABN Amro Craigs broker Matt Willis said there was a re-rating of risk underway globally and risk premiums were rising.
But there was no sign of panic selling, Willis said.
Telecom was down five cents at 4.49 dollars.
MUMBAI: Indian share prices plunged 3.96 per cent on higher cash reserve amounts for banks and fears that overseas funds may exit emerging markets over US credit woes.
Dealers said that overseas funds led the sell-off sparked by heavy losses on Wall Street after further problems in the US home loan market while Indian banks were hurt by Tuesday's increase in their cash reserve requirement.
The 30-share Sensex index closed down 615.22 points to 14,935.77.—AFP
