ASIA: Sharp market drop after US tumbles
Updated
Asian markets have suffered heavy falls in the wake of Thursday's 2.25 percent drop on Wall Street. The Dow had its biggest drop since February, amid concerns over the US mortgage and corporate lending markets. Share markets fell sharply in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, as international investors pulled out of riskier assets -- including Asian emerging markets. Here in Australia the sharemarket lost $A41 billion, closing 2.8 per cent down -- the biggest one-day drop since September 2001. The Philippines had its biggest percentage drop in 10 years, falling nearly 4 percent, while in Tokyo the Nikkei shed 418 points, or 2.36 percent. South Korea's KOSPI index closed down 80.32 points or 4.1 percent, the largest single day loss since mid- 2004. And Hong Kong stocks had their worst one-day percentage fall since March, as investors unloaded shares across the board.
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