Asia Drops Like a Stone

Asian markets took Wall Street's overnight lead and plunged in trading Wednesday, as a wave of short selling hit Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng dropped its most in one day since Sept. 11, 2001.

The Hang Seng plummeted 1,386 points, or 5.4%, to 24,450. China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 153 points, or 2.8%, to 5290, and the Nikkei dropped to a 26-month low of 468 points, or 3.4%, to 13,504.

China Watch: Studying EDU

"What's bad on the Hang Seng is the dip below last November low of 25,862 points," says Andrew To, head of research and sales at Taifook Securities in Hong Kong. "The final support level to keep the market from extreme bearishness now is 23,400 -- that level can be taken as the dividing line between a bull and a bear market." ...