Asia: Rate Fears Hit Chinese Markets

Insurance companies also faltered, since they do not tend to do well in times of inflationary pressure, as investors fear that lower consumer spending will diminish future sales. China Life Insurance(LFC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), the nation's largest insurer, dropped 3.7%, to HK$33.95.

Holding up better than most shares was e-commerce giant Alibaba.com(ALBCF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), which fell 2.6%, to HK$15, after reaching a high of HK$16.16 earlier in the day. Many expected a failed deal between majority shareholder Yahoo!(YHOO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Microsoft(MSFT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) to send shares back to around HK$13, the level that they were at prior to a speculative rally in the stock. Better than expected quarterly results have so far helped the stock remain strong, however.

Goldminers were mixed, as some investors were taking profits after a recent surge in the shares on an increase in the base commodity. The metal was selling for $875.20 an ounce in Singapore, after reaching a high of $881.05 an ounce earlier.

Zijin Mining(ZIJMF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) dove 3.4%, to HK$7.20, and Zhaojin Mining(ZHAOF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) was 3% lower, at HK$12.16. Sino Gold(SIOGF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) bucked the day's bearish trend, surging 5.7%, to HK$40.70.

In Japan, the yen was weakening vs. the dollar, to 105.33 vs. 104.70 earlier. Exporters rose, since many price the margin between profitability and loss on U.S. sales at 105 yen vs. the dollar. Nintendo(NTDOY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) surged 2.3%, to 58,100 yen, and Sony(SNE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) added 0.6%, to 4950 yen. Canon(CAJ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) was 1.3% higher, at 5470 yen.

In Japan, a return to heavy buying in financials helped the Nikkei settle at a 4-month high, despite some slackening in the gains toward the afternoon. Mizuho Financial(MFG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) jumped 2.8%, to 554,000 yen, and Mitsubishi UFJ(MTU - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) gained 2.6%, to 1160 yen.