Asian Markets Close Lower Amid Rising Fears Of Worsening U.S. Economy

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Asian markets fell on Monday, tracing their losses to Wall Street. Financial firms and earnings reports led the decline in major markets like Japan, Australia, China and Hong Kong.

Additional pressure on stocks came from renewed and rising concerns over the state of the U.S. economy as the Group of Seven finance ministers expressed fears over weakening global economic prospects in the financial sector.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average closed down by 406.22 points or 3.05 percent at 12,917.51 points, while the broader Topix dropped by 2.5 percent to 1,246.21 points.

Shares of financial firms like Mitsubishi UFJ declined by as much as 3.7 percent, followed by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group losing by 4.2 percent in Tokyo.

Weakening earnings reports from Canon, Ricoh and KDDI, pulled the markets in Tokyo further down. The printer-maker Canon fell by 5 percent, mobile-phone operator KDDI dropped by 7.8 percent and the office equipment maker Ricoh tumbled by 4.4 percent.

"In terms of importance to its relevant market, Canon is as important to the TSE as GE is to the NYSE," said Pali International analyst Pelham Smithers in a report, according to The Financial Times news report on Monday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed lower by 856.59 points or 3.47 percent at 23,811.20 points, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell by 5.2 percent to 12,664.21 points.

Shares of HSBC Holdings shed 1.6 percent, followed by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China losing 5.9 percent, retreating last week's gains.

China's red-chip companies like China Mobile lost as much as 3.7 percent and CNOOC dropped by 4.8 percent in Hong Kong.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed down by 5.6 percent to 3,296.672 points, led by property developers and metal producers.

Shares of China Vanke plunged sharply by 10 percent and Poly Real Estate followed by dropping 10 percent in Shanghai.

Shares of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. fell by 5.9 percent and Nanjing Iron & Steel Co. dropped by 8.5 percent, over the fears that the cost of raw materials could impact their profits.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed lower by 1.8 percent to 5,342.40 points. Shares of Commonwealth Bank fell by 2.3 percent to 40.49 Australian dollars and Toll Holdings plunged sharply by 15 percent to 8.05 Australian dollars in Sydney.

Elsewhere, in South Korea, the Kospi index closed down by 1.9 percent to 1,746.71 points, New Zealand's NZX 50 index droped by 0.5 percent to 3,470.96 points.

In Taiwan, the Weighted index shed 0.2 percent to 8,892.68 points. While, the stock markets in India and Thailand were shut down for a holiday.

Exporters were jolted by the rising U.S. dollar against the Japanese currency on Monday. The dollar was recorded at 100.46 yen by late afternoon in Asian trading, compared to 100.90 yen in New York on Friday.

Meanwhile, a light sweet barrel of crude oil futures remained above $109 mark on Monday. Crude fell by 43 cents to $109.71 a barrel in electronic trading, after it was recorded at $110.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.