Asia-Pacific stocks slump in line with Wall Street

Asia-Pacific stocks slump in line with Wall Street

TOKYO (AFP): Share markets across the Asia-Pacific region
plunged Monday with some haunted by a sharp drop on Wall Street
and others by the specter of currency volatility,

Japanese share prices nosedived 4.0 percent with the sell-off
on Wall Street and the yen's advance against the dollar
triggering panic selling in late trading, brokers said.

"Friday's drop on Wall Street and a surge in the yen depressed
market sentiment, with some investors forced to dump their stocks
in panic when they saw the Nikkei dropping below 19,000 points,"
said a broker at one of Japan's "Big Four" securities houses.

The Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost
780.28 points to finish at 18,824.18, falling below the 18,900
point level for the first time since April 29, when the key index
ended at 18,670.37.

In Hong Kong, share prices slumped 1.1 percent following the
Wall Street drop, dealers said.

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index dived
187.07 points to close at 16,460.47 -- its second consecutive
loss after a record closing high of 16,673.24 set last Thursday.

In Singapore, blue-chip stock index fell 2.6 percent to a
four-year-low on concerns about neighboring Malaysia's economy
and confusion over the dual listing of foreign and local shares
here, dealers said.

"The concern over the sharp fall in the Malaysian ringgit
coupled with jitters over the dual listing of local and foreign
shares eroded market confidence," said Chandra Mahawar, dealer
with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell here.

The Stock Exchange of Singapore's blue-chip benchmark, the
Straits Times Industrials index, dropped 50.06 points to end at
1,893.86, a four-year low, while the broader All-Singapore index
dipped 17.66 points to 481.28.

In Sydney, the Australian Stock Exchange's key all ordinaries
index fell 44.2 points to 2,667.2.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's key stock index slumped 3.2
percent to a 20-month closing low as foreign funds sold stock
amid concerns over the country's economy.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange 100-share weighted composite
index tumbled 30.22 points to close at 902.14, after dropping to
the day's low of 897.21, the lowest closing and trading levels
seen since November 1995.

In Bangkok, Thai share prices dropped 0.7 percent as investors
waited for details of government spending plans for a multi-
billion-dollar International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance
package.

An SCF Finance analyst said the market did not react to the
developments because investors were not sure about what the
government would spend the money on.

"They were more concerned over the next step, what the
government would do after Thailand got the loan package," the
analyst said.

The main Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index lost 4.60
points to finish at 632.25 points, while the selected SET 50
index was down 0.31 point at 47. 86.

In Taipei, investors sold mainstream electrical issues to hunt
for bargains in the construction sector, dragging the Taiwan
bourse down 1.0 percent, brokers said.

"More retail investors shifted to pursue low-priced, lagging
construction and asset-backed shares from high-priced electrical
issues," said Cooper Liao of Jih Sun Securities Investment
Consulting Co. Ltd.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index slid 96.27
points to 9,897. 27.

In Manila, Philippine share prices slumped 2.8 percent on a
technical correction and amid concerns over corporate results and
the currency markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 75.39
points to close at 2,572.43 points.

In Seoul, share prices closed 0.6 percent higher on the Korea
Stock Exchange on limited buying of financial shares, dealers
said.

Investors remained cautious as they were uncertain on the
direction of the market due to lack of market boosting news, they
said.

The composite index closed up 4.23 points at 765.07.

In Auckland, the NZSE-40 capital index closed down 30.05
points at 2,508.40.

In Shanghai, the B share index closed 2.21 points down at 72.
71 points while the A share index of locally traded stocks fell
22.61 points, or 1.8 percent, to 1,239.56 points.