Asian Stocks Fall, Led by Honda; Japan Slides on China Protests

[Zorra]

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slumped, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average set for its biggest drop in 11 months. Honda Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. led declines by exporters as U.S. manufacturing and consumer sentiment reports signaled slowing growth in the world's largest economy.

The Nikkei also dropped below 11,000 for the first time in four months as anti-Japan protests spread to about a dozen cities in China over territorial and historical disputes. Taiyo Yuden Co., which makes electronic parts in a factory in China, fell.

``It's starting to look difficult to count on the U.S. to be the engine of growth,'' said Hiroshi Arano, a managing director at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, which oversees $16 billion. ``Japan is also faced with the China risk now and that's a big factor keeping investors from buying.'' Arano said he's avoiding companies that depend on China demand.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, which measures 945 stocks, tumbled 2.6 percent to 95.02 at 11:14 a.m. in Tokyo, set for its biggest slide since May 17. Japan's Nikkei fell 3.3 percent to 11,001.21, its steepest drop since May 10. South Korea's Kospi index lost 2.3 percent. Indexes in all markets open for trading fell, with New Zealand's NZSX 50 Index set for the biggest drop in more than two year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=avv.ay0Kzupc&refer=asia

Wonder how this will affect Wall St. tomorrow.

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Black monday, anyone? nt

[Nite Owl]

2. Though not very accurate

at this hour futures are down.

S&P -4.2
Nas -7.5

[UpInArms]

3. Tokyo stocks plummet after U.S. losses, China woes

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&guid={83BEDDA9-2B9C-4342-9C7D-77C07A3B0E30}&dist=bnb

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Tokyo stock indexes were sharply lower at midday Monday, with the Nikkei 225 Average losing 3.3%, or 369.48 points, at 11,001.21. The broader Topix of all Tokyo Stock Exchange first section issues was down 33.42 points at 1,117.25. Foreign investors were heavy sellers after U.S. losses Friday, and sentiment was further damaged by escalting tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

...a bit more...

[pfitz59]

4. yikes!

free-fall?

[RawMaterials]

5. Asian benchmarks skid after U.S. losses

snip..

"Today's losses were a reaction to both last week's U.S. equity market weakness, as well as fears about the possible economic impact of tensions with China," said Hiroichi Nishi, equities general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities in Tokyo.

"Foreigners were selling, but domestic investors sold, too, as they couldn't afford to sit on the sidelines as the market dropped," he said.

China is Japan's biggest trading partner. For the past three weeks, anti-Japan demonstrators have protested in Shanghai and other Chinese cities, calling for a boycott of Japanese goods and denouncing Japan's failure to atone for its wartime past.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura met his Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing in Beijing Sunday, but the meeting ended with no apologies and did little to ease fears.

South Korea's Kospi index and Taiwan's Taiex index were both down by more than 2.0%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened down.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was down 1.0%.

The dollar was trading at 107.96 yen, compared to 107.75 yen in late U.S. trading Friday. See Currencies.

On Friday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) ended the week with its third consecutive triple-digit point decline, losing 191.24 points, or 1.9%, to end at 10,087.51 on Friday. For the week, the blue-chip gauge lost 3.6%. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPQ) slid 38.56 points, or 2%, to 1,908.15, its lowest close since October. The index was down 4.6% on the week. See Market Snapshot.


http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=27052496&brk=1

[Moderator]

23. RawMaterials

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[oblivious]

6. Hong Kong down almost 2% at 10:30am, Monday

HK shares open sharply lower on Wall St, Nikkei falls
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE and REUTERS
Updated at 10.32am:

Hong Kong share prices opened sharply lower on Monday following heavy falls on Wall Street last Friday and in the Tokyo market in the morning session, dealers said.

The key Hang Seng Index opened down 256.73 points or 1.88 per cent at 13,382.02.

[rodeodance]

7. will people wake up if there is a good fall?--yes, maybe it is the

thing that will wake many up!!!!

[UpInArms]

8. Nikkei still falling - now down more than 400 points

11:50pm 04/17/05 NIKKEI 225 AVERAGE DOWN MORE THAN 400 POINTS - DJ

[rodeodance]

9. When will they wake Bush up?

[PartyPooper]

10. Bush, Cheney, et al. will all run for cover tomorrow and

the MSM will focus on the new pope all day long while the stock market goes into meltdown.

Mark my words!

:D

:hi:

[rodeodance]

11. anyone know if Bush is on his pony SS show tomorrow?

[underthedome]

12. Any guesses how much the Dow is going to drop come Monday? *nt

nm

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock!....

...BOOM!!

[rodeodance]

14. Japanese stocks plunge on broad concerns

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1106&ncid=749&e=6&u=/ft/20050418/bs_ft/ecd70f16afb311d9bb3300000e2511c8

Japanese stocks plunge on broad concerns

14 minutes ago


By David Turner in Tokyo

Japanese stocks plunged on Monday morning, depressed by a combination of fear over rising Sino-Japanese tension and growing concerns for the US economy.


The technology heavy Nikkei 225 dropped by 3.25 per cent to a four-month low of 11,001 by midday. The broader based Topix index of stocks fell by 2.9 per cent to 1,117......

T

[aquart]

15. Uh oh.

[Javaman]

16. I'm guessing a 300 point drop.

[UpInArms]

17. you can track the Nikkei at this link

http://money.cnn.com/markets/morning_call/

it's about 1/2 way down on the page

here's the latest number on the page

NIKKEI 225 10,972.27
-398.42
-3.50% 12:45
last update: 04/18 12:25 ET

[rodeodance]

18. all red and negitive numbers around the world (except NORWAY)

http://money.cnn.com/markets/world_markets/

Asia Pacific & Australia
exchange index level change %change date/time *
Australia ASX 100 3,224.70 -40.70 -1.25% Apr 18, 2005 2:29
Australia ASX All Ords 3,938.60 -54.60 -1.37% Apr 18, 2005 2:29
Australia ASX Mid-cap 50 3,855.20 -47.70 -1.22% Apr 18, 2005 2:29
Hong Kong Hang Seng 13,395.44 -243.31 -1.78% Apr 18, 2005 11:49
Hong Kong HSCC Red Chip 1,489.96 -47.65 -3.10% Apr 18, 2005 11:49
Japan Nikkei 225 10,972.27 -398.42 -3.50% Apr 18, 2005 12:45

[bling bling]

19. Nikkei down almost 450 points now. n/t

[puerco-bellies]

20. Yea!! Puerco-bellies is short the S&P indicies!

And has taken a terrible beating in the markets the last couple of weeks! Ah, sweet sweet disaster, and economic melt down. Dollar shorts anyone?

[NeoConsSuck]

21. Without a doubt..

the biggest news story of the morning, but it will be ignored by MSM, because it makes capitalism 'look bad'.

Instead, we will have Pope & MJ headlines. Gotta keep the masses tranquil.

[bemildred]

22. China-Japan flames scald business

The angry wave of anti-Japanese protests sweeping China for the past three weeks has generated a deep sense of unease in the business community as it threatens bilateral economic ties. Many fear that the current tensions, sparked initially by the approval of eight revisionist Japanese history textbooks, could significantly disrupt booming trade and investment flows.

Tokyo stocks plummeted across the board on Monday, with the key Nikkei index recording its biggest one-day loss in 11 months and ending at a four-month low. About 81 stocks fell for every one that gained on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section, its broadest decline since September 12, 2001, the day after the terror strikes in the United States. Monday's drop wiped US$115 billion off the value of stocks included in the Topix, reported Bloomberg.

---

The Chinese leadership has repeatedly singled out Koizumi's pilgrimages to the war-tainted Yasukuni Shrine as the main factor inhibiting bilateral political dialogue. Yasukuni serves as a memorial to Japan's war dead, but since 1978 has also controversially honored 14 Class A war criminals, including the wartime leader General Hideki Tojo. Beijing regards the shrine as the spiritual symbol of Japan's brutal wartime regime and therefore considers prime-ministerial patronage as unacceptable in the same way Israel would not tolerate German leaders visiting a Nazi memorial.

Since taking office in April 2001, Koizumi has made a high-profile excursion to the shrine every year, sparking widespread regional protests on each occasion. These pilgrimages are seen as the reason he has not been allowed to visit China since October 2001. Only one previous Japanese prime minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone, visited the shrine while in office back in 1985. His single outing sparked such intense protests that until Koizumi, Japanese leaders avoided the establishment in deference to Chinese sensitivities.

Asia Times