Business | Markets
Gloom returns to Asian markets
Investors reacted to huge overnight losses on Wall Street and dismal US economic reports.
- AP
- Published: 23:25 December 2, 2008
Tokyo: Gloom and volatility returned to Asian markets on Tuesday as investors dumped stocks following huge overnight losses on Wall Street and dismal US economic reports revived fears of a global recession.
"I saw that figure this morning, and I thought, 'Oh, no. Here we go again,'" said Peter Wright, an associate at Burrell Stockbroking, as he watched Australian shares plummet from the opening bell. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 4.2 per cent to 3,528.2.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 533.53 points, or 6.4 per cent, to 7,863.69, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost more than 5 per cent to 13,396.07.
Key indices in the Philippines, Taiwan, India and South Korea also dropped sharply.
But Wall Street advanced cautiously, as investors waded back into the market in search of bargains after Monday's big selloff, ever mindful of the health of the financial, retail and auto sectors.
In the first half-hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.47, or 0.47 per cent, to 8,187.56. Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.16, or 0.75 per cent, to 822.37, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 8.30, or 0.59 per cent, to 1,406.37.
Some buying was to be expected after the stock market suffered one of its worst days on Monday.
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