Japanese stocks fell sharply Thursday, led down by financials such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group after two major U.S. banks warned they may write down additional losses on investments in debt securities.
The Nikkei 225 Average ended at 15,744.12, down 2.5 percent below its close in the previous session. The broader Topix index fell 2.6 percent to 1,516.10.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 2.7 percent lower, shedding 776.61 points to 27,744.45. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, or shares of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 3.7 percent to 16,332.08.
Japan's three biggest banks were among the hardest hit amid a broad retreat from thee financial sector. Shares of Mizuho Financial Group lost 5.3 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 7.9 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lost 7.3 percent.
Shares of Cnooc, China's largest offshore oil explorer, fell 3.6 percent, while PetroChina fell 4.4 percent. Shares of Hang Lung Property Group fell 2.8 percent.
Shares of Inpex Holdings climbed 1.7 percent in Tokyo, while in Sydney, shares of Woodside Petroleum gained 0.7 percent.
Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia's largest carrier, rose 2.6 percent to a record after the airline lifted its fiscal 2008 earnings forecast by 40 percent.
Toyota Motor Corp. led exporters in a broad retreat on concerns the stronger yen will pressures overseas earnings. The automaker's shares were down 1.9 percent. Shares of Sony Corp. sidestepped the downtrend, climbing 1 percent.
In other Tokyo action, shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc climbed 0.6 percent after broker Mizuho Securities reportedly raised its view on the share, citing cutbacks in handset incentives and other strategy changes.
Meanwhile, shares of IHI Corp. fell 5.6 percent, adding to a 10 percent drop in the previous session, after the firm restated earnings for the financial year ended in March to show a large loss, instead of a large profit. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it will look into whether it should delist the share.
ELSEWHERE:
MUMBAI: India's Sensex shed 1.3 percent after setting an al-time intraday high of 20,498.11.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's KLSE Composite Index was down 0.9 percent.
JAKARTA: Indonesia's benchmark JSX Composite was down 1.4 percent.
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6 percent.
SINGAPORE: The Straits Times Index shed 2 percent.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted Price Index fell 3.6 percent.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3 percent.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index was little changed, rising 0.05 percent.
with files from other wire services
