Most Asian stock markets dropped sharply Monday, led by commodity-related shares such as Nippon Steel in Japan, BHP Billiton in Australia, Zijin Mining in Hong Kong and Posco in South Korea.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index lost 190.86 points, or 1.3 percent, to 14,500.55 points, its lowest since July 18, 2006.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 340.2 points, or 1.24 percent, to 27,179.49, paring losses after earlier dropping 3 percent.
Decliners included shipbuilder Kawasaki Kisen, which fell 5.8 percent, and Nippon Steel, which shed 2.8 percent.
Sony rose 0.7 percent and Matsushita Electric Industrial added 0.7 percent after U.S. movie studio Warner Bros. said that it will support Sony's Blu-ray format for next-generation DVDs. Matsushita supports the format.
ELSEWHERE:
BANGKOK: Thailand's main stock index fell 1.6 percent to 808.3, dropping its fourth straight day since the market reopened after the New Year holidays.
JAKARTA: Indonesia's main stock benchmark rose 0.4 percent to 2,776.4.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to a new record close at 1,470.8.
MANILA: Philippine shares tumbled to their lowest level in nearly four months, tracking Wall Street's losses at the end of last week amid fears of a U.S. recession. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index declined 2.6 percent to close at 3,388.8, its lowest finish since Sept. 19. It has fallen 7.6 percent in the past five sessions, and 6.4 percent since the start of the year.
MUMBAI: Indian shares edged higher. Mumbai's Sensex index rose 0.61 percent to 20,812.65.
SEOUL: Heavy losses in U.S. technology shares drove down stocks in their South Korean counterparts. The Korea Composite Stock fell 1.8 percent to 1,831.1.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares fell sharply, tracking weak performances in other regional bourses on the renewed worries of a possible recession inthe U.S. The Straits Times Index fell 2.5 percent to a three-week low of 3,353.1.
TAIPEI: Taiwan shares fell sharply, dragged down by weak electronics issues that tracked Friday's drop on Wall Street. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange fell 4.1 percent to 7,883.4 points, its lowest close since Dec. 20.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks fell sharply, tracking losses in the U.S. and Australia. The NZX 50 fell 1.4 percent to 3,953.6.
SYDNEY: Australian stocks fell on the weak U.S. non-farm payrolls data and the subsequent steep decline on Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.3 percent to close at 6,161.6.
with files from other wire services
