Asian markets fell sharply Monday, with Japan's two main indexes dropping below their 52-week lows as the yen's brisk appreciation hurt exporters such as Honda Motor Co.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2.5 percent at 15,197.09 in the wake of a continued sell-off on Wall Street Friday. The broader Topix index lost 2.5 percent at 1,456.40, after earlier falling as low as 1,440.29, its lowest level since June 2006.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index ended down 3.9 percent at 27,665.73. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index tumbled 5.9 percent to 16,656.91.
Shares of Canon Inc. dropping 2.7 percent and Honda Motor Co. losing 3.6 percent, while Nintendo Co. stock sank 4.2 percent.
In Sydney, shares of miner Rio Tinto rose to a record high of A$149.99 ($135) in early trading, before slipping back to end at A$139.72, a gain of 6.7 percent. The surge came after the Sunday Times reported that the board of rival mining giant BHP Billiton was meeting over the weekend to decide whether to go hostile with its plan to buy Rio Tinto, after Rio earlier rejected its $110 billion approach.
In Hong Kong, shares of PetroChina dropped 7.3 percent on continued profit-taking as well as a decline in global oil prices. Other China-related shares were also hit, with Hang Seng heavyweight China Mobile losing 5.6 percent.
Shares of HSBC Holdings fell 2.8 percent on media reports after the U.K.'s Independent newspaper reported on Sunday, without naming sources, that it's likely to reveal more write-downs this week related to its U.S. subprime business.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex dropped 2.2 percent to 18,484.77.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi sank 3.4 percent to 1,923.42.
SHANGHAI: The Shanghai Composite lost 2.4 percent at 5,187.73.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index fell 2.8 percent to 3,498.85.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.4 percent to 6,455.30.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index skidded 3.4 percent to 8,670.61.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index lost 1.1 percent at 4,089.13.
with files from other wire services
