Asian Stocks Continue to Slide Lower

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Asian markets continued to tumble Thursday, extending the global rout amid disappointment at the number of companies missing earnings expectations.

The turning point seemed to come last week in the reaction to very positive Apple(AAPL Quote) numbers that didn't follow through to positive equity trading.

It has been tough sledding since then and may reflect the fact that since March global equity markets have surged about 60%, making this rally one of the strongest in history even though the global economy is barely moving. The year end for mutual funds ends this week and that may be weighing on sentiment as traders weigh investors' needs as books get closed.

There are some important earnings reports in the U.S. Thursday, such as Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote), Sprint(S Quote) and Procter & Gamble(PG Quote), all of which could impact the direction of U.S. trading.

Every main market in the Asian region is currently trading in the red. The Nikkei index in Japan closed down 1.8%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was trading lower by 2.4%.

However, it should be noted that the vast majority of declines were built into futures trading before the opening bell in reaction to negative Wall Street trade, while the cash session has been relatively flat.

S&P futures have lost 50 points (about 5%) from the high reached in Monday trading, falling to the lowest values seen in three weeks. Following closely, the Nikkei index has plunged nearly 600 points (6%) since Monday, also reaching its lowest value in three weeks.

The biggest losers in Asian trading were the basic materials and technology sectors, which have posted impressive declines over the last few trading sessions.

The financial sector also moved lower, after a top executive of ANZ Bank said Australia's economy is still in a fragile situation. On top of this, most companies that reported Thursday missed analysts' estimates, like PetroChina(PTR Quote) and NEC Electronics.