Asian markets fell on Tuesday, as banks and real-estate shares in China and Hong Kong fell on concern that economic growth may be even slower than currently expected and as property firms dragged on Tokyo.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index lost 194.17 points, or 2.28% to settle at 8,328.41 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 614 points or 4.54% to 12,916.
Among economic news, Japan's Cabinet Office said in a final report that the leading index rose to 89.4 in September from 89 recorded in August. It was also up from 89.2 initially reported. The September reading matched economists' expectations. During the same period, the coincident index logged a reading of 100.9, up from 100.8 reported initially and 100.7 marked in August. Moreover, the lagging index fell to 99.3 from 100.5 seen in August.
Meanwhile, Japan's nationwide department store sales continued to decline for the eighth straight month in October as fears of an economic slowdown in the wake of global financial market turbulence reduced household spending. According to a report from the Japan Department Stores Association, sales at Japan's department stores declined at a faster pace of 6.8% year-on-year in October, compared with a 4.7% fall recorded in September. At the same time, sales at Tokyo's 28 major outlets operated by 13 companies fell 8.4%. That was quicker than a 4.6% decrease in September
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ lost 6.7%, Mizuho Financial slid 4.3% and Sumitomo Mitsui dipped 3.7%.
The uncertainty surrounding the U.S. automakers weighed on Japanese auto companies too. Honda slid nearly 4%, while Toyota dipped about 3%. However, Mazda rose 6.4% after a report in the Nikkei business daily said that Ford Motor Co., the holder of a 33.4% stake in Mazda, could announce plans to sell a 20% stake in the company as early as Tuesday. Among exporters, Sony and Canon both slid 4.1% each.
Wireless carrier Softbank Corp. fell more than 15% after a report said that the company faces an increasing risk of a special loss of $776 million from a financial derivative.
Elsewhere:
China's Shanghai composite index declined 128 points or 6.31% to 1,902.
Singapore's Straits Times lost 57 points or 3.26% to 1,693.
Taiwan's weighted index shed 135 points or 3.03% to 4,305.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index declined 47 points or 3.81% to 1,190.
Malaysia's KLCI lost 1 point or 0.11% to 883.
with files from other wire services
