HONG KONG ( 2008-11-18 17:36:25 ) :Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday as fears of a painful global recession were reinforced after US banking giant Citigroup slashed 50,000 jobs and the financial crisis showed no sign of easing.

A day after Japan announced it was officially in recession its economics minister said he had "no confidence at all" that the world's second biggest economy would recover any time soon.

Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 2.28 percent, while Hong Kong, which announced it was in recession Friday, dived 4.5 percent and Sydney lost 3.6 percent.

The losers were led by Shanghai, which plummeted 6.31 percent due to profit-taking following four days of strong gains on the back of optimism generated by the announcement of Beijing's 586 billion dollar stimulus package last week.

Seoul slid 3.9 percent and Singapore 3.26 percent as regional markets took their cue from a big sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Taipei hit a five-year low after dropping 3.03 percent.

Trade was thin as dealers stayed cautious before a Congressional hearing in Washington this week where US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will give testimony on the 700 billion dollar financial bailout.

Dealers were also looking for good news after the G20 meeting of rich and emerging nations at the weekend failed to come up with any concrete plans to ease the global meltdown.

"Market eyes are on global recession fears," Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC, said.

"The financial summit has left the impression that economic stimulus measures are unlikely to get into gear," Takahashi added.

Concerns over the future of the world economy were battered after Citigroup said it was to get rid of 50,000 -- about 20 percent -- of its staff worldwide compared with a peak level of 375,000 in late 2007.

Banking giant HSBC said it had cut 450 staff in Hong Kong in anticipation of a deteriorating global economy.

In Japan, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano told reporters: "In reality we see few factors that would contribute to positive growth" in the fiscal year starting next April.

"If I judge what is happening honestly, I have no confidence at all now that there will be positive growth."

Markets were well down elsewhere in the region, with Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok all losing more than three percent.

TOKYO: Japanese stocks lost 2.28 percent.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 194.17 points to 8,328.41. The Topix index of all first section issues fell 15.05 points, or 1.77 percent, to 835.44.

Banking shares were under pressure. Mitsubishi UFJ shares lost 6.7 percent to 546 yen and Mizuho Financial Group fell 4.3 percent to 229,800 yen.

After the market close, Mitsubishi UFJ said its net profit sank 64 percent in the six months to September.

Mazda Motor rose 6.4 percent to 184 yen as dealers mulled a report -- confirmed after the close of trade -- that top shareholder Ford Motor has decided to sell a 20 percent stake in Japan's fifth largest automaker.

HONG KONG: Share prices closed 4.5 percent lower.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 613.64 points at 12,915.89, after falling as much as 6.3 percent in the afternoon session. Turnover was light at 44.84 billion Hong Kong dollars (5.75 billion US).

All 42 blue chips were in the red. Chinese insurance giant Ping An plunged 11.95 percent and shipping conglomerate China Merchants was down 9.80 percent. Heavyweight HSBC slid 3.6 percent after Goldman Sachs slashed the lender's target price to 77 from 102 dollars to reflect lower earnings and dividend forecasts. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing fell 7.5 percent, extending Monday's 7.6 percent decline, on concerns over shrinking market turnover. China Construction Bank was down 5.6 percent on concerns Bank of America may soon reduce its 19.1 percent stake.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed down 3.6 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 dropped 129.8 points to 3,523.2, its lowest level since August 25 2004, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 126.4 points to 3,513.1.

A total of 1.29 billion shares worth 4.6 billion dollars (3.0 billion US dollars) was traded, with 240 stocks up, 776 stocks down and 300 unchanged.

Banks and miners led the market down, while the country's biggest investment bank Macquarie Group bucked the trend with a well-received interim report.

The report, even though it showed net profit down by 43 percent to 604 million dollars, helped to momentarily buoy the market.

Macquarie Group gained 16.5 percent to 24 dollars.

National Australia Bank gained 1.2 percent to 19.15 but ANZ lost 1.5 percent to 13.04 and Commonwealth Bank was down 3.9 percent at 30.10.

BHP Billiton lost 3.6 percent to 24.20 and Rio Tinto fell 7.4 percent to 68.00.

SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices plummeted 6.31 percent.

Fund managers, fearing the domestic economy will need time to recover, collected quick profits after four consecutive days of gains, traders said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, fell 128.06 points to 1,902.43 on turnover of 101.5 billion yuan (14.8 billion dollars).

"The weak US stock performance last night (Monday) spurred investors' fears that China's economy may weaken further amid a global downturn," Zhang Gang, an analyst at Central China Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Property shares led the losers on concerns that the economic slowdown would put additional pressure on the sagging real estate market.

China Vanke, the biggest listed property developer, tumbled by the 10 percent daily limit to 6.15 yuan.

Financial firms also tumbled. Ping An Insurance, China's second life insurer by premiums, plummeted 10 percent limit-down at 24.47 yuan.

TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed down 3.03 percent.

The weighted index fell 134.62 points at 4,305.18, its lowest since hitting

4,271.30 on May 22, 2003. Turnover was 48.95 billion Taiwan dollars (1.48 billion US).

The bellwether electronics sector led the fall, losing 4.83 percent, while construction lost 4.5 percent, tourism fell 3.15 percent, and financials shed 0.44 percent. The government announced shortly before market close an 82-billion-Taiwan-dollar scheme to hand out shopping coupons to qualifying Taiwanese in an effort to boost spending.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 5.6 percent to 38.50 Taiwan dollars after it announced a hiring freeze. United Microelectronics Corp fell 5.44 percent to 7.65 and Hon Hai Precision Industry dropped 6.9 percent to 56.80. Far Eastern Department Stores rose limit-up 7 percent to 13.80 and E-Life Mall Corp. rose 6.8 percent to 25.85, on news of the voucher programme.

SEOUL: South Korean shares closed 3.9 percent lower. The KOSPI index ended down 42.16 points at 1,036.16. Volume was 372.4 million shares worth 4.08 trillion won (2.82 billion dollars).

"The local market lacked momentum to overcome concerns about weakening US

consumption and the health of US financial firms," Lee Kyung-Soo, an analyst at Taurus Investment and Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. Samsung Electronics fell 3.4 percent to 435,000 won and Hynix Semiconductor lost 11.2 percent to 8,110.

LG Electronics declined 5.3 percent to 72,000 won.

Hyundai Motor fell 4.9 percent to 46,450 won and Kia Motors dropped 7.9 percent to 8,710. Hyundai Engineering and Construction slid 8.1 percent to 49,000 won and GS Engineering and Construction lost 10.2 percent to 56,200.

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 3.26 percent lower.

The blue chip Straits Times Index fell 57.12 points to 1,692.55. Volume totalled 1.00 billion shares worth 862.68 million Singapore dollars (564.64 million US).

Singapore's small and open economy, which relies heavily on international trade, is likely to be hit hard by the escalating global economic slump.

Property stocks were hammered due to slowing demand, with CapitaLand falling 10 cents to 2.59 dollars and Keppel Land down 10 cents to 1.57.

Among banks, DBS dropped 20 cents to 9.90, United Overseas Bank gave up 20 cents to 11.96 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp lost two cents to 4.79.

Singapore Airlines tumbled 28 cents to 11.00, Singapore Telecom declined 12 cents to 2.38 and oil rig-maker Keppel Corp dipped 22 cents to 4.40.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 0.1 percent lower.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 0.97 of a point to close at 883.09.

Plantation company KL Kepong was down 2.4 percent at 8.20 ringgit and LCL Corp shed 9.9 percent at 82 sen. Local funds helped lift plantation giant Sime Darby 2.4 percent at 6.45 ringgit and Petronas Gas added 0.5 percent at 9.80 ringgit.

BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 3.28 percent lower.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index lost 14.24 points to close at 419.97 points.

State energy firm PTT fell 9.00 baht to close at 159.00 baht, while its subsidiary PTT Exploration and Production edged down 5.00 to 91.50. Banpu lost 7.00 to 186.00.

Thailand's largest lender, Bangkok Bank, dropped 4.00 to finish at 70.50, while Kasikornbank fell 1.50 to 49.00.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares fell 3.8 percent.

The Jakarta Composite Index slipped 47.07 points to 1,189.86.

The main index has fallen 57 percent since the start of the year, while market capitalisation has dropped 48 percent from the start of 2008 to 987.4 trillion rupiah (82 billion dollars). Bank Negara Indonesia tumbled 7.29 percent to 445 rupiah, Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper fell 7.14 percent to 1,260 and Aneka Tambang dropped 6.06 percent to 930.

MANILA: Philippine share prices closed 3.42 percent lower.

The composite index fell 66.40 points to 1,873.60 points.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. fell 4.25 percent to 2,140 pesos while Ayala Corp. slipped 4.9 percent to 192 pesos.

San Miguel Corp. saw its A shares fall by 3.26 percent to 4.50 pesos while its B shares fell 1.09 percent to 45 pesos.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.00 percent lower.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 27.33 points to close at 2,714.59.

Market leader Telecom fell eight cents to 2.34 dollars and Contact Energy was down five cents at 7.20. Fletcher Building rose eight cents to 5.72 dollars.

Sky TV fell five cents to 3.50 dollars, Port of Tauranga dropped four cents to 6.56, and Auckland International Airport was down three cents at 1.67.

MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 3.81 percent.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex fell 353.81 points to 8,937.2, at a near three-year low.



Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2008