HONG KONG, Nov 19: Concerns for the future of the US auto industry as well as fears over a global recession saw shares in Asia tumble on Wednesday.

As heads of the Big Three US car-makers appealed for a government handout in Washington, the outlook for world economies weighed on investors.

Tokyo lost 0.66 per cent, while Hong Kong slid 0.77 per cent as dealers were unable to find any recent positive news as the worst financial crisis in decades dragged on.

A strong sense of caution lingers, said Motoki Ichikawa, investment information chief at SMBC Friend Securities in Tokyo.

Sydney was 0.7 per cent off, Seoul lost almost two per cent, Taipei ended 0.49 per cent down and Singapore dived 1.59 per cent.

GM boss Rick Wagoner warned the US economy faces “catastrophic collapse” if the government does not step in, while Chrysler's chief said the firm could run out of cash without “immediate” help.

TOKYO: Japanese stocks lost 0.66 per cent.

The Nikkei-225 index benchmark lost 55.19 points to 8,273.22. The Topix index of all first section issues dropped 8.01 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 827.43.

Financial shares remained pressured by the credit crunch. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial sank 6.4 per cent to 511 yen, Mizuho Financial lost 7.5 percent to 212,500 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 7.9 percent to 314,000 yen.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares lost 0.77 per cent.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 100.09 points lower at 12,815.80.

Turnover was light at 38.91 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.02 billion US).

Kenny Tang, research head at Redford Securities, said the index would remain volatile in the near term.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing defied the market downtrend on bargain hunting, rising 0.9 per cent.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 0.7 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost 23.6 points to close at 3,499.6 while the broader All Ordinaries shed 29.9 points to 3,483.2.

Turnover was 1.55 billion shares worth some 4.41 billion dollars (2.84 billion US).

BHP Billiton fell 4.1 percent to 23.20 dollars while rival Rio Tinto dropped 3.1 per cent to $65.90 .

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares closed 1.59 per cent lower.

The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed down 26.96 points at 1,665.59.

Neptune Orient Lines closed four cents lower at 99 cents.

Singapore Airlines eased 48 cents to 10.52.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.6 per cent lower.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 5.44 points to close at 877.65.

Gamuda was down 5.4 percent at 1.59 ringgit, Resorts World shed 2.6 per cent at 2.67 ringgit and Maybank was down 3.8 percent at 5.10 ringgit.

Tenaga was 0.8 percent higher at 6.25 ringgit while Parkson was up 1.9 per cent at 3.28 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares ended 0.8 per cent lower.

The Jakarta Composite Index fell 9.5 points to 1,180.36.

Bakrie related stocks account for almost 16 per cent of total market capitalisation. Telkom rose 0.9 percent to 5,600 rupiah. composite index rose 34.58 points to 1,908.18.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 0.31 per cent lower. The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 8.31 points to close at 2,706.28.

Air New Zealand fell two cents to 89 cents, despite announcing it planned to save 20 million dollars (11 million US) by cutting 200 jobs.

Market leader Telecom rose one cent to 2.35 dollars, while Fletcher Building eased two cents to 5.70.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell four cents to $3.12 .

MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 1.83 per cent. The benchmark 30-share Sensex fell 163.42 points to 8,773.78, at a near three-year low.—AFP