By Chao Deng
Stocks in Asia fell Friday, with major indexes in Australia,
Tokyo and Hong Kong each down more than 1.5%, as oil prices dropped
and concerns grew about the pace of global growth.
The Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.5% to 15253.42, Australia's
S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.9% at 5198.90 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng
Index was 1.6% lower at 23147.81, after the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (DJI) tumbled 2% on Thursday. The fall gave the Dow its
first 300-point drop since late July, and its largest loss of the
year.
Investors sold stocks in Asia as Brent crude , the global oil
benchmark, tumbled to its lowest level since December 2010. Prices
were down $1.93 at $88.13 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Overnight, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi
reiterated his commitment to employ strong measures to combat low
inflation in the eurozone, spurring expectations for further easing
by the ECB. That added to volatility in global stock markets, where
investors have already been on edge with the prospect of higher
U.S. interest rates as well as a confluence of growth worries
around the world, including in China and Europe
In Hong Kong, tensions rose after the government scrapped
scheduled negotiations with pro-democracy protesters. The numbers
of demonstrators has dwindled in recent days, but could rise again,
potentially dealing another blow to local businesses and causing
further transportation disruptions.
In Japan, minutes from a central bank meeting showed that one
board member warned of possible negative effects of additional
stimulus, even as many investors expect the Bank of Japan to expand
monetary stimulus by early next year with inflation staying well
below its target level. The comment indicated that not all board
members were comfortable with aggressively easing policy further.
Any signs of skepticism among central bankers about the economic
effects of further easing could weaken the impact of such a move,
especially in the minds of market participants.
The dollar (USDJPY) traded at Yen107.80 from Yen107.84 late
Thursday in New York. Recent dollar weakness has been hurting
Japanese exporters, including Nissan Motor Co. , which was down
2.3%, while Mazda Motor Corp. fell 2.5%.
Stocks in Australia again were at an eight-month lows with
energy and mining stocks leading losses.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said a significant
move in the next few days under the 5208 low hit by the benchmark
index Tuesday would signal that September's trend downward has
resumed.
Mining heavyweights BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. were
down 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. was down
2.4%, Santos Ltd. was 2.7% lower, and Oil Search Ltd. shed
3.3%.
Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.6%, and South
Korea's Kospi was down 1.1%.
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