Asian shares fell sharply on Thursday, as investors reacted to fresh developments on Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis and some disappointing U.S. economic data, with exporters, banks and energy companies among top decliners.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average collapsed 163.04 points, or 1.7%, to 9,411.28
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index faded 390.66 points, or 1.8%, to 21, 953.10
Both Chinese markets, as well as Australia, fell to 2011 lows during the session.
Exporters were under pressure on Thursday, with Samsung Electronics Co. ending down 2% and Hyundai Motor Co. falling 2.8% in Seoul, while Elpida Memory Inc. fell 3.6% and Hitachi Ltd. lost 3.4% in Tokyo.
Wednesday’s developments on Europe’s peripheral sovereign-debt woes included strikes and protests in Greece, as Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he would seek to form a new government.
Meanwhile, weak U.S. data on manufacturing and a rise in core consumer prices added to the market’s jitters
As in the U.S. trading day, financials -- which are generally leveraged to economic growth -- were casualties in the Asian session, with Agricultural Bank of China Ltd down 2.4% and China Merchants Bank Co. losing 2.2% in Hong Kong.
Nomura Holdings Inc. dropped 2.3% in Tokyo, Woori Investment & Securities Co. shares were down 4.6% in Seoul, and Westpac Banking Corp. fell 2.9% in Sydney.
Energy companies were also hit, with Japan’s Inpex Corp down 3.8%, and Caltex Australia Ltd. falling 4.9%.
Benchmark Nymex oil futures dropped more than 4% on Wednesday in New York as the dollar strengthened, though the benchmark contract regained a bit of its loss in electronic trade during Asian hours.
Meanwhile, shares of luggage-maker Samsonite International SA ended its trading debut in Hong Kong with a 7.7% loss.
Samsonite had raised $1.25 billion U.S. in its initial public offering, which precedes another high-profile foreign IPO in Hong Kong by Prada SpA, which slated to begin trading at the end of next week.
One expert said that Hong Kong’s recent spate of IPOs is also weighing on the broader market.
In a day of steep losses for many firms, Alibaba.com Ltd. stood out, rising 4.4% after its parent company said it would restructure its key Taobao unit and could take the privately held group public.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index slipped 45.54 points, or 1.5%, to 2,917.58
Korea’s Kospi Index demurred 39.90 points, or 1.9%, to 2,046.63
Taiwan’s Taiex Index saw 177.02 points, or 2%, of its strength disappear to 8,654.43
Singapore’s Straits Times Index backpedaled 34.69 points, or 1.1%, to 3,020.13
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index docked 24.76 points, or 0.7%, to 3,481.61
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 87.60 points, or 1.9%, to 4,479.20.
