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U.S. Woes Weigh On Asian Markets
South Korea's Kospi index was Asia's hardest-hit stock market, falling 4.1 percent to its lowest level in 17 months.
(By Lee Jin-man -- Associated Press)
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South Korean airlines slumped, with Korean Air Lines declining by its daily limit of 14.95 percent. Analysts noted the won's fall is raising concerns about inflation as well as South Korea's economic fundamentals.
Japanese exporters also lost ground, with printer and digital camera maker Canon falling 2.6 percent and Toyota retreating 2.2 percent.
As in other countries, Japan's major electronics makers had a rough day, as fears of a downturn in consumer spending at the year-end holiday season spread. Sanyo Electric dropped 4.1 percent, while Sony fell 2.4 percent, though game maker Nintendo bucked the trend.
Monday's decline in Tokyo largely erased gains last week when the Nikkei broke 13,000, considered by some investors to be a key level for judging market sentiment.
"There was a feeling that the market went too far when it hit 13,000, and today was a reaction to that, especially given weaker U.S. stocks and the yen's gain" against the dollar, said Yutaka Miura, a senior strategist at Shinko Securities.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3 percent to 2,325.14.
"Investors are disappointed over the lack of any effective moves by the government to boost the market, so sentiment is still too weak," said Zhang Jintao, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai.
Airlines, whose operations are sensitive to increases in fuel prices, fell on oil jitters. China Southern Airlines dropped 5.5 percent and Air China fell 5.3 percent.
In oil issues, PetroChina fell 3 percent to its lowest level since the company listed its shares in Shanghai in October 2007. Banking shares sank despite solid earnings in the sector recently, with leading lender ICBC off 2.8 percent.
Market weakness in Asia and the United States hurt shares in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index lost 1.7 percent to close at 20, 906.31.
Clothing company Esprit Holdings, which relies heavily on European demand for its exports, wilted 6 percent after a series of analyst downgrades.
China Mobile, meanwhile, continued to fall amid concerns about its earnings outlook, hitting a new yearly low before closing down 2.34 percent.
Associated Press staff writer Louise Watt in London contributed to this report.
