Asian Stocks Close Lower Thursday

Updated from 12:36 a.m. EST

Asian stocks closed lower after three days of gains as the excitement from a Barack Obama victory in the U.S. presidential election was short-lived and weaker profit forecasts signaled the possibility of a global economic recession.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average finished down 6.5% to 8899.14. Shares of Toyota(TM) tumbled. After the market closed, the automaker said second-quarter net profit fell 69% to 139.8 billion yen ($1.4 billion) and slashed its annual profit forecast because of falling sales and a stronger yen.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed lower by 7.1%, while the S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia declined 4.3%. News Corp. (NWS) shares in Australia plummeted after the owner of the Wall Street Journal and other media properties said fiscal 2009 adjusted operating profit would drop by a percentage in the low- to mid-teens. The company previously forecast a gain of 4% to 6%.

Stocks in Europe fell as corporate earnings decreased and the European Central Bank and the Bank of England prepared to announce Thursday expected interest rate cuts. Both the FTSE 100 index in London and the DAX in Frankfurt were trading to the downside by 3%. Shares of oil and mining companies declined.

Belgium's InBev, the brewer that is acquiring Anheuser-Busch (BUD), said third-quarter profit fell 14% and added the acquisition of the maker of Budweiser beer is on track to close by the end of the year.

Wall Street futures were lower after U.S. stocks sank hard Wednesday on some bearish corporate news and dreary economic data, and while investors sized up their prospects following Obama's victory.