Sharp fall today

Asian markets fell sharply today after disappointing jobs data in the United States renewed concerns about growth there.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index were 2.22 percent off last Friday’s close. Across the region, stocks also fell sharply today in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and New Zealand.

Locally, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) also took its cue from the rest of Asia by ending 14.76 points lower at 1,290.70, despite early expectations that the Budget 2008 proposals would have positive impact on today’s trading.US stocks had fallen last Friday after the government reported that payrolls in August fell for the first time in four years.

Investors took the data as confirmation that the recent US sub-prime mortgage problems were having a broader impact on the American economy.

“Asia will probably continue to feel the knock-on effects as risk-aversion and deleveraging continue, not to mention fears over the strength of the U.S. economy in general,” Marshall Gittler, chief Asian strategist at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, said in a statement to clients.

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