Asian markets closed lower Tuesday, succumbing to intra-day volatility, with Japanese shares extending their streak of losses as the yen's strength hurt exporters such as Honda Motor Co. Hong Kong stocks were dragged down by early afternoon selling in heavyweights such as HSBC Holdings and China Mobile.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 1 percent to 13,972.6, its lowest finish in more than two years.
Blue chips mostly fell. Hitachi Ltd. dropped 1.6 percent and Sony Corp. was off 2.2 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. shed 1.8 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 1.3 percent.
Mizuho Financial Group shed 1.4 percent. The Nikkei business daily reported Tuesday that Mizuho might buy 140 billion yen (US$1.3 billion) worth of shares in Merrill Lynch & Co.
In Hong Kong, shares also dropped sharply, with investors there spooked by worries about exposure of banking heavyweight HSBC to the subprime mortgage crisis. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 2.4 percent to 25,837.8.
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thailand's main stock index fell 1.4 percent to 779.8, its lowest close since Aug. 21. Losses were dominated by energy stocks as prospects of a U.S. recession becomes more likely, said Adisak Kammool, a strategist with KGI Securities.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares fell sharply as bearish sentiment in Asian markets inspired foreign funds to continue to cash in gains. The main index of the Indonesian Stock Exchange fell 2.9 percent to 2,730.0, its lowest level this year.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 0.1 percent to 1,505.7.
MANILA: Philippine shares declined their second straight session after investors pocketed early gains amid persistent concerns over the U.S. economy. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slid 1 percent to 3,447.3.
MUMBAI: Indian shares were dragged down by telecommunication company Bharti Airtel Ltd. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share Sensex index dropped 2.3 percent to 20,251 points. On the broader National Stock Exchange, the 50-company S&P Nifty index dropped 2.1 percent to 6,074 points.
SEOUL: South Korean shares fell for a fourth consecutive session as fears of a U.S. recession outweighed positive sentiment from the earnings reports of technology blue chips Samsung Electronics and LG.Philips LCD. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, finished 1.1 percent lower at 1,747.0.
SHANGHAI: Chinese banks pulled stocks lower after local reports said the central bank will further restrict lending. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent to 5,443.8. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,576.5.
SINGAPORE: Singapore shares fell in spite of the overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors remained jittery ahead of Citigroup's fourth quarter earnings due later Tuesday. The Straits Times Index fell 2 percent to 3,154.6.
TAIPEI: Taiwan shares rose, spurred by tech gains that tracked the strong U.S. market performance overnight. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 3.1 percent to close at 8,428.8, its highest level this year.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks ended lower, with the NZX-50 index slipping 0.4 percent to 3,810.5.
SYDNEY: Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3 percent to 5,960.0, its lowest level in five months.
with files from other wire services
