Asian share markets were lower Wednesday after a torrid session on Wall Street, on concern mounting bank losses will deepen the global recession.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed off 164.15 points or 2.04% to 7,901.64, weighed down by recent strength in the yen.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended down 376.14 points or 2.9% to 12, 583.63
HSBC Holdings Plc, which owns two banks in Hong Kong, lost 4.4% amid speculation lenders globally need to bolster capital. China Life Insurance Co., the nation’s largest insurer, lost 7.5% in Hong Kong after saying 2008 profit may have fallen by 50%. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Singapore’s No. 1 lender, led the city’s equities lower after the government cut its economic forecast for the second time in three weeks.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest listed bank, lost 3.8%. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation’s biggest by assets, declined 4.2%.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton fell 2.4% after it said it would ramp down and suspend its operations at its Ravensthorpe Nickel operation in Western Australia amid slowing economic conditions. Fellow miner Rio Tinto was down 3.2% after it said it would cut production at its Rio Tinto Alcan operations.
Among banks, ANZ Bank fell 3.6%, while retailer David Jones sank 7.2% after it lowered its second-quarter 2009 guidance due to deteriorating economic forecasts.
Financials and exporters were weak in Tokyo with Mizuho FG down 5.7%, MUFG off 3.8% and Sony down 2.7%. But Elpida Memory was up 5.6% after confirming it was in talks with three Taiwan semiconductor markets, including Promos Technologies, over a potential merger.
Korea's telecom firm KT Corp was up 7.2% while its unit KT Freetel added 6.4% after KT yesterday announced its plan to absorb KT Freetel on May 18, pending regulatory approval.
Singapore's government announced the economy in the fourth quarter of 2008 contracted 16.9% from the third quarter, the largest fall on record.
For 2009, the government now forecasts GDP will contract between 5% and 2%, a downgrade from the Jan. 2 forecast of between a contraction of 2% and growth of 1%.
CHINA
Of the world’s five largest economies, only China has so far escaped recession. The nation will tomorrow report a 6.8% expansion for the fourth quarter, the slowest growth in seven years, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Investment in China, the largest developing economy, fell 5.7% from a year earlier to $5.98 billion in December, sliding for a third straight month, official figures show.
Elsewhere:
Shanghai Composite Index inched back 3.48 points or 0.17% to 2,021.71
Taiwan's Taiex index actually gained 5.36 points or 0.13% to 4,247.97
Singapore's Straits Times Index was off 18.85 points, or 1.09%, to 1,704.52
Korea's Kospi Composite retreated 53.91 points, or 2.27%, to 2,315.97
New Zealand's NZX-50 was off 4.44 points or 0.16% to 2,705.04
Australia's All Ordinaries index closed down 33.80 or 0.97% to 3,442.80
with files from other wire sources.
