- Title: VARIOUS: ECONOMY: Asia stocks at 4-year low as global economy slows
- Date: 23rd October 2008
- Summary: (W1) SEOUL, KOREA (OCTOBER 23, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STOCK INDEX ON ELECTRONIC BOARD PEOPLE ON SEOUL STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 43-YEAR-OLD JANG MI-YANG SAYING: "My fund advisor advised me to keep it for two, three years more, then the market might be recovering, he told me. I was at a loss. Should I pull out my funds? Should I keep them? Well, I have persuaded myself I have had no funds to start with." PEOPLE CROSSING ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 37-YEAR-OLD LEE JOON-HO SAYING: "Everybody is facing difficulties in all areas now. And yet, I've I heard we will face a more serious financial crisis next two years." PEOPLE ON STREET
- Embargoed: 7th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Economic News
- Reuters ID: LVADHOFWAIP1DIJ3ZHPUNDZMX73R
- Story Text: Asian stocks fell to a 4-year low on Thursday (October 23) on growing fears emerging market weakness will prolong a global recession and depress corporate earnings.
Economic worries also pushed the yen to a 6-year high against the euro.
Japan's Nikkei average fell as much as 7 percent earlier in the session and hit its lowest point in more than five years, with exporters such as Canon Inc, battered by a firmer yen and fears over the health of the global economy.
The index cut losses as U.S. stock futures extended gains following a story in the Wall Street Journal saying the U.S. government will consider a $40 billion plan to slow home foreclosures.
The Nikkei closed down 2.46 percent to 8460.98. The broader Topix declined 1.97 percent to 871.70 points after slumping more than 6 percent at one point.
Figures released on Thursday showed that Japan's exports grew only slightly in September from a year earlier as the spreading effects of the global financial crisis take their toll on demand for Japanese goods.
So far, the benchmark Nikkei has lost more than 10 percent since Tuesday.
The Japanese government said the wildly fluctuating markets were a serious concern.
"We will be monitoring the market movements closely as the large fluctuations of the stock market are an additional risk factor for our economy thanks to the seriousness of the financial crisis in Europe and the U.S. and the deepening of the global economic downturn," deputy government spokesman Jun Matsumoto told reporters on Thursday.
In Seoul, shares extended losses to fall more than 7 percent mostly due to losses in major exporting issues.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No.1 memory chip maker and the main index's biggest share, tumbled 7.5 percent, and POSCO, the world's No.4 steelmaker, was down 8.8 percent.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down to 1,028.50 points, the lowest since July 2005. KOSPI closed down 7.48 percent on Thursday.
The index, which has fallen 45 percent so far this year, is potentially on course to post its fourth-largest daily percentage loss after the market's third-worst loss of 9.44 percent on October 16.
The junior Kosdaq market hit its historical low, ending Thursday's trade at 308.95 points, down 7.92 percent.
Many people on streets of Seoul said they expect the financial crisis to continue for years.
"My fund advisor advised me to keep it for two, three years more, then the market might be recovering, he told me. I was at a loss. Should I pull out my funds? Should I keep them? Well, I have persuaded myself I have had no funds to start with," said 43-year-old Jang Mi-yang.
A man, who decided not to invest in funds anymore, said he heard from all the experts the crisis would last long.
"Everybody is facing difficulties in all areas now. And yet, I've I heard we will face a more serious financial crisis next two years,"
said 37-year-old Lee Joon-ho.
Taiwan stocks closed down 2.72 percent on Thursday at a fresh five-year closing low, with investors offloading shares across the board after the government said it would lower the 2009 economic growth forecast.
The main TAIEX share index closed 132.08 points lower at 4,730.51 after touching its lowest point since June 2003.
It was unable to match the more drastic falls seen on Wall Street's major indexes and other Asian markets due to a temporary measure that halves the down limit of individual stocks to 3.5 percent.
Investors lose their confidence in the stock markets seeing numbers continuously falling.
"So far, the stock market has not stopped falling, we don't know when it will return to the norm. I keep buying and falling, buying and falling," said 53-year-old housewife, Chiang Chin-lien.
"My children had good intention, said I have free time after retirement and could invest a little in the stock market, so I agree and earned a little bit. I was quite confident and keep on investing until I was stuck. My retirement fund is all in there. You think about it, I worked 49 years for the government, and all the money's in there," said 70-year-old retiree, Mrs. Chung.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index touched a low of 4.7 percent during trade, it is the lowest since April 2005.
Some property stocks managed to gain after the Chinese government late on Wednesday (October 22) announced policies to increase homeownership. China Overseas Land's stock rose 2.1 percent, despite a 6.8 percent drop in mainland Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong.
Australian shares closed down 4.4 percent, in line with another heavy sell-off on global equity markets.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index ended off 181.7 points at 3,974.4, adding to a 3.4 percent slide, with global miner Rio Tinto suffering its heaviest intra-day fall since the 1987 stock market crash.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index ended down 3.2 percent at 2,807.34 points. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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