Asian stocks fell sharply Monday, adding to recent losses, as a lack of apparent progress on solving Europe’s sovereign-debt problems fueled risk aversion and sent investors out of equities.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Index returned from a long weekend to slide another 186.13 points, or 2.2%, to 8,374.13
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index kept falling, giving back 261.03 points, or 1.5%, to 17,407.80
Friday wrapped up a poor week in Asia, with the Chinese, South Korean and Australian markets posting weekly losses that varied from 2% for the Shanghai Composite to 9.2% for the Hang Seng Index.
Policy makers attempted to soothe investor anxiety about Europe over the weekend, with officials at the International Monetary Fund meeting emphasizing they would do "whatever is necessary" to resolve the debt crisis.
But some strategists on Monday said markets are still looking for action rather than rhetoric.
Further weighing on sentiment were comments Sunday by German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen, who said a new tranche of aid for Greece will need to wait until European and International Monetary Fund officials are satisfied with Athens’ fiscal progress.
Exporters with notable European exposure fell, with consumer-electronics maker Sony Corp. finishing down 4.1%, Sharp Corp. losing 4.9% and Elpida Memory Inc. tanking 6% in Tokyo.
Apparel exporter Esprit Holdings Ltd. fell 3.7% in Hong Kong, while computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. dropped 5.9%.
Also in Hong Kong, conglomerate Swire Pacific Ltd. dropped 4.8%, extending a sharp loss after saying last week it would spin off its property unit, and weighed further after the firm was downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
China Yurun Food Group Ltd. tumbled 30.9% after warning of a fall in profit for the third quarter.
In line with heavy losses for many commodities on Friday and again on Monday, investors were pulling out of resource-sector firms, with Japanese energy major JX Holdings Inc. down 5.6%.
The earlier falls in commodities prices, especially in crude-oil prices, also slammed Japanese trading houses, with Mitsui & Co. losing 5.9%, Mitsubishi Corp. down 7.9%, and Itochu Corp dropping 7.6%.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Composite Index dropped 58.56 points, or 2.2%, to 2,610.92
Taiwan’s Taiex Index retreated 169.10 points, or 2.4%, to 6,877.12
Korea’s Kospi Index sank 44.73 points, or 2.6%, to 1,652.71
Singapore’s Straits Times Index stepped back 44.49 points, or 1.7%, to 2,654.31
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slid 27.34 points, or 0.8%, to 3,255.37
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dumped 39.30 points, or 1%, to 3,863.90
