Asian Stocks Close Lower Monday

Updated from 1:23 a.m. EDT

Asian stocks closed lower Monday as concerns mounted the bailout plan of financial institutions in the U.S. won't be enough to stem further bank failures and troubled Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis NV received a $16.4 billion injection from Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Congressional leaders in the U.S. have put the finishing touches on legislation aimed at rescuing the troubled financial markets. Lawmakers Sunday released final legislation that would give the Treasury Department the authority to use $700 billion to acquire toxic mortgage-related securities.

The House of Representatives plans to vote on the bill Monday, and the Senate is expected to follow later in the week, the Associated Press reports said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 149.55 points, or 1.5%, to 11,743.61. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 4.3% to 17,880.68 as stocks in the property sector took losses after HSBC raised mortgage rates on new loans.

Stocks in Europe were trading lower as bank bailouts across the globe accelerated. The FTSE 100 index in London fell 2.6%, while the DAX in Frankfurt fell 2.9%.

The U.K. government Monday confirmed it planned to nationalize Bradford & Bingley after reaching a deal for Spanish banking giant Banco Santander(STD) to buy the troubled U.K. mortgage lender's deposit book and branch network.

Stock futures in the U.S. were trading lower. S&P 500 futures were down 24.30 points to 1190.20, and were 26.14 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures fell 31.75 points to 1643, and were 40 points below fair value.

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