Tokyo: Asian stocks fell for a second week last week after a US jobs report missed economist estimates and concern grew that Europe's crisis of government debt is spreading.
LG Electronics, which counts North America as its biggest market, slumped 11 per cent in Seoul last week after a government report showed US employers hired fewer workers in May than forecast.
Nintendo, a Japanese game maker that gets 34 per cent of its sales in Europe, retreated 8.1 per cent after the euro weakened.
Mitsui and Company, which holds a stake in the oil field operated by BP where the unprecedented oil spill has been taking place, tumbled 9.5 per cent in Tokyo on concern earnings would suffer.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.9 per cent to 112.44 last week. The gauge plunged 3.3 per cent on June 7, its steepest drop since March 30, 2009, after a Hungarian government official said the country's economy was in a "very grave situation".
"What I'm afraid of is that the volatility of the euro can trigger turmoil in the financial markets, prompting investors to reduce risk assets including stocks," said Akio Yoshino, chief economist in Tokyo at Societe Generale Asset Management, Japan, which manages the equivalent of $18 billion.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled two per cent last week even as a government report showed Japan's gross domestic product rose at an annualised five per cent rate in the three months ended March 31, faster than the 4.2 per cent projected by economists.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.3 per cent in Sydney, as gains in oil and copper prices lifted mining companies.
The statistics bureau reported on June 10 that the jobless rate fell to 5.2 per cent in May from 5.4 per cent the previous month.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has slumped about 13 per cent from its high this year on April 15.
This was amid growing concern European countries, in addition to Greece, would struggle to curb their budget deficits or repay debt.
Companies relying on demand in the US dropped after Labor Department figures on June 4 showed the country's private payrolls rose by 41,000, trailing the 180,000 gain projected by economists.
