Posted on 10/22/2008 8:39:23 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Nikkei hovers above 8,000, Hang Seng below 14,000
By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
Last update: 11:14 p.m. EDT Oct. 22, 2008
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets sold off Thursday on fears about the impact of a global recession, with South Korean and Japanese stocks plummeting as investors dumped shares across the board.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Average dropped to its lowest level in more than five years as exporters such as Mazda Motor Corp. and Nintendo Co. were hit hard by a rally in the yen and after steep losses on Wall Street overnight. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped below the psychologically-crucial 14,000-point level for the first time since July 8, 2005.
"Investors are shying away from equities and moving towards the bond markets. It's no longer a matter of where you're going to get growth from, it's more about how you're going to protect your capital," said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Main First Securities in Hong Kong.
"You've just got investors getting very worried, with very strong and its' very difficult to exporters to see any growth going ahead," he added.
The Nikkei 225 Average dropped as low as 8,016.61, a 7.6% loss, during the session, a level it hasn't seen since May 2003, before recovering. It ended the morning session down 5.5% at 8,195.74, on top of a 6.8% plunge Wednesday, while the broader Topix index fell 4.8% to 846.32.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Symbol | Name | Last Trade | Change | Related Info |
---|---|---|---|---|
^AORD | All Ordinaries | 3,952.50 |
167.60 (4.07%) | Components, Chart, More |
^SSEC | Shanghai Composite | 1,854.06 |
41.76 (2.20%) | Chart, More |
^HSI | Hang Seng | 13,608.89 |
657.71 (4.61%) | Components, Chart, More |
^BSESN | BSE 30 | 10,169.90 |
0.00 (0.00%) | Chart, More |
^JKSE | Jakarta Composite | 1,321.74 |
58.00 (4.20%) | Components, Chart, More |
^KLSE | KLSE Composite | N/A | 0.00 (0.00%) | Components, Chart, More |
^N225 | Nikkei 225 | 8,195.74 |
478.95 (5.52%) | Chart, More |
^NZ50 | NZSE 50 | 2,817.36 |
82.04 (2.83%) | Components, Chart, More |
^STI | Straits Times | 1,750.48 |
70.65 (3.88%) | Components, Chart, More |
^KS11 | Seoul Composite | 1,039.80 |
94.79 (8.35%) | Components, Chart, More |
^TWII | Taiwan Weighted | 4,714.05 |
148.54 (3.05%) | Chart, More |
Ping!
It like disaster in Asia right now
Hey Tiger any word on health of Chia Pet the dude still alive
I wish a few “polls” would give us a break and show McCain back in the lead. If they don’t these things are going to hit bottom REALLY HARD pretty soon.
I don’t think the polls matter much. There are necessary adjustments to the markets.
No outward indication that he is dead. No important announcement from NK on Kim’s death or succession plan yet.
swine flu.
+
bird flu.
So is like Arafat death story they not announced NOT YET
They all fear an Obama presidency — like many of us.
97 yen to the dollar. The US is going to be bargain basement for some big shoppers.
Man, the Nikkei is dropping like a stone.
I told everyone it wasnt over! Its not over til its over!
I remember back in the mid 90's when the yen was going for something like 79 to the dollar if that makes you feel any better.
Simple fact is, these bankers and Wall Street Lexus lovers took hundreds of billions of dollars of PROVABLE ASSETS, like 401(K)’s and high grade mortgages and WENT TO THE CASINO!!!
So, how are the casino stocks doing?
Select "Chart" on right for each one.
The Fed also did its damage by keeping the yield curve inverted for a very long time.
Everybody likes greenback and yen, not Nikkei or DJIA.
Boy, oh, boy. Cash sure is king.
The conundrum is, are all these trillions of cash infusions by central banks inflationary? When does that show up? Then cash is not king.
yitbos
I was living there at the time. The worst was the hospital bill after our son was born. I was reimbursed later but I had to fork out the cash first and then turn in a claim. Ouch. The best was when we moved into base housing and got the deposit back for the apartment we moved out of. I had paid the deposit when the yen was about 135 to the dollar and got it back at about 90.
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