Asian Markets Update: Markets Tank Following Wall Street's Slide
TOKYO -- Asian stock markets skidded lower Monday, following Friday's ugly performance on Wall Street, as investors remained concerned about the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidential election.
In Tokyo, the
Nikkei 225
closed down 323.9 points, or 2.2%, at 14,664.6 and the
Topix
index, which includes all shares listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
, fell 21.3, or 1.5%, to 1395.7.
Besides the distraction of the U.S. election, Japanese investors had to contend with their own political uncertainty, as Prime Minister
Mori
tried to avoid a possible vote of no confidence and increasing calls for him to resign. Many in opposition and even some of Mori's own ruling party are concerned about the slow recovery and reform of the economy.
Such an atmosphere did little for volatile technology shares, as
NEC
(NIPNY)
dropped 85 yen, or 3.7%, to 2,190 ($20.27) and
Fujitsu
(FJTSY)
tanked 80 yen, or 4%, to 1,935.
Telcos also moved lower, as wireless operator
NTT DoCoMo
(NTDMY)
fell 40,000 yen, or 1.4%, to 2.86 million and
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
(NTT)
closed down 20,000 yen, or 2.1%, at 920,000.
The dollar traded at 108.01 yen, up from 107.32 yen Friday.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's
Hang Seng
index also ended in the red, falling 573.7, or 3.7%, to 14,815.7. Dragging it down were
China Mobile
(CHL) - Get Report
, which dropped HK$2.45, or 4.8%, to 48.30 ($6.19), and
HSBC
(HBC)
, which shed HK$4.00, or 3.5%, to 111.00.
South Korea's
Kospi
index tanked 26.2, or 4.6%, to close at 538.9. Contributing to the losses were
Korea Electric Power
(KEP) - Get Report
, which fell 850 won, or 3%, to 27,250 ($23.96), and
SK Telecom
(SKM) - Get Report
, which slid 13,000 won, or 4.8%, to 259,000.
Taiwan's
TWSE
index fell 295.2 points, or 4.9%, to 5793.5, as heavyweight
Taiwan Semiconductor
(TSM) - Get Report
plummeted 6.6% to TWD106.50 ($3.32).
