Asian markets slumped on Thursday as investors turned their attention back to the weakening global economy and locked in profits to protect recent gains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 622.1 points or 6.5% to close at 8,899.1 while the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 1,050.1 points at 13,790.0.
On the economic front, the minutes from the October 6-7 meeting showed no clear signs that the Bank of Japan's policy board was considering a rate cut at that meeting, ahead of its decision to slice rates to 0.3% on October 31. Japan's government pressed the Bank of Japan to join global efforts to contain the global financial crisis in the weeks leading up to the central bank's first rate cut in seven years, the minutes showed.
Meanwhile, Japan's Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report that the leading index rose to 89.2 in September from 89.0 in August. A year ago, the index had logged 95.4. The September reading matched economists' expectations. At the same time, the coincident economic index logged a reading of 100.8, up from 100.7 recorded in August. Moreover, the lagging index fell to 99.5 from 100.5 seen in August.
Among automakers, Toyota fell 10.6%, Isuzu Motors slumped 20.7%, Honda Motor slid 9.8%, and Nissan Motor lost 9.0%. Other blue-chip exporters also fared badly as the dollar slipped below 98 yen. Canon plunged 12.6%, Sony plummeted 11.1%, and Panasonic lost 8.5%. In the tech space, Kyocera shed 8.9% and Elpida Memory, which reported its first-half results after the close, fell 6.5%.
Isuzu more than halved its net profit forecast for the fiscal year through March to 40 billion yen from the 85 billion yen it projected in May. Toyota said after the market close that it had slashed its 2008-2009 group net profit forecast to 550 billion yen from 1.25 trillion yen. Its second quarter group net profit was 139.80 billion, down 69% year-over-year.
Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ lost 6.9%, Mizuho Financial slid 5.7%, and Sumitomo Mitsui dropped 7.4%. In the oil sector, Inpex Holdings plummeted 11.1%, Nippon oil tumbled 15.0% and Nippon Mining Holding fell 8.4%. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp slid 7.1%, while Mitsui & Co rose 0.9%.
CHINA
The Chinese stock market closed lower, led by financial and property stocks, reversing most of the gains that it posted on Wednesday. A sharp retreat overnight on Wall Street, as recession worries resurfaced after the U.S. presidential election, prompted investors to sell stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 42.89 points or 2.44% to close at 1,717.72.
Among banks, China Merchants Bank fell 5.0%, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.8%, Industrial Bank shed 4.15%, and China CITIC Bank slid 3.7%. In the property sector, China Vanke dropped 3.6% and Poly Real Estate Group plunged 5.2%.
Elsewhere in the financial sector, China Life Insurance declined 3.6% and Ping An Insurance tumbled 5.1%. Market heavy weight PetroChina slid 2.8% and oil refiner Sinopec sank 3.4%.
Elsewhere:
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 5.7% at 4,694.
Singapore's STI closed down 2.7% at 1,819.
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index closed down 4.3% at 1,307.
Malaysia's KLCI closed up 19.3 points at 896.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 4.3% to 4,149.70.
New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 1.6% to 2,840.13.
with files from other wire services
