Asian markets track heavy losses
Pastor Dale Morgan
Asian markets track heavy losses*
POSTED: 0213 GMT (1013 HKT), March 13, 2007
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Asian share markets on Wednesday tracked heavy
losses on Wall Street on fears about an intensifying crisis in U.S.
mortgage lending, spooking investors nursing losses from a sharp
sell-off two weeks ago.
Japanese stocks fell more than 2 percent, mirroring falls on Wall Street
that were triggered by growing losses at subprime lending firms -- those
operating at the riskier end of the mortgage market -- and weak U.S.
retail sales.
"Most people are just headless and panicking and don't know what they
want to do," said Axel Merk, portfolio manager, at Merk Hard Currency
Fund in Palo Alto, California.
Share markets in Australia and Korea fell more than 1.5 percent, while
the 10-year Japanese government bond yield slid to a 2-1/2-month low
after U.S. Treasuries rallied on concerns the troubled subprime mortgage
sector could hurt the wider economy.
"The worries about the U.S. economy could become more serious," said Kim
Hak-kyun, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities. "We are still
not done with this correction period."
Global markets had been showing signs of a tentative recovery from a
slide that began at the end of February, when steep losses in Chinese
stocks combined with worries about slowing U.S. growth to spark a
worldwide flight from riskier assets.
Tokyo's Nikkei was down 2.4 percent by 0100 GMT, while MSCI's broadest
index of shares elsewhere in Asia fell 1.5 percent.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 and Seoul's benchmark index both lost 1.7
percent. Singapore's Straits Times opened down 2.4 percent.
Shares in exporters led the losses, hurt by the rising yen and worries
of flagging demand in the crucial U.S. market.
In Tokyo, Honda fell 3.1 percent and rival car maker Toyota slid 2.7
percent, while in Seoul Samsung Electronics dropped 2.5 percent.