Asian indices drop sharply following weak US markets; Hang Seng down more than 400 points, Straits Times down more than 3%
Asian indexes dropped sharply early Monday in the wake of a US stock plunge on credit-market concerns. Japanese shares also were hit hard by declines in exporters such as Canon Inc. and Sony Corp. as the yen strengthened against the US dollar. The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.5% to 16,722.67, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.5% to 1,647.03. The U.S. dollar fell to 117.58 yen Monday in Tokyo from 118.02 yen in New York late Friday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declined 1.8% to 5,913.80, New Zealand's NZX 50 index dropped 2.2% to 4,033.57 and South Korea's Kospi lost 2.2% to 1,836.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down 2.04% or 460 points, while Singapore's Straits Times is down more than 3%. Taiwan Index is down 1.5% In Sydney, shares of Macquarie Bank led the fall, dropping as much as 6.7%. The company's shares have lost nearly 15% in August, after Macquarie warned last week that investors in its Fortress Investment's high-yield fund could face losses of up to 25% on volatility related to U.S. credit markets. US stocks plunged Friday, with credit concerns and a weak jobs report driving a sell-off that marked the Dow's third worst day of the year and steep weekly losses for the broader market. Already on the decline, the pace of the sell-off quickened after a Bear Stearns Cos. conference call about the impact of bad home loans on its funds failed to reassure investors. Nonfarm payrolls grew by a lower than expected 92,000 in July, the lowest level since February. In addition, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since January, Economists were expecting payroll growth of about 133,000, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. The jobless rate was expected to remain at 4.5%. The Dow fell 281.18 points to 13,182.15. As has been typical in recent selloffs, much of the decline came late in the session, the Dow lost more than 100 points in the final 15 minutes Friday. Despite the day's loss, the index was off only 0.63% for the week. Broader stock indicators also fell sharply Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 39.14, or 2.66%, to 1,433.06, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 64.73, or 2.51%, to 2,511.25. For the week, the S&P fell 1.77%, while the Nasdaq fell 1.99%.