Asian stocks plummeted last week, sending the region’s benchmark index to its biggest weekly drop on record, as the deepening credit crisis threatened to push more companies into bankruptcy.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc slumped 20 percent as Asian money-market rates climbed even as the US Federal Reserve and other central banks cut borrowing costs to revive credit lending. BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s biggest mining company, sank 8.8 percent, while Toyota Motor Corp plunged 21 percent on concern a worldwide slowdown will hurt demand for metals and automobiles.
“It’s pure panic,” said Ivan Tham, Singapore-based head of funds management at the state-backed Kuwait Finance House, which has about US$24 billion in assets.
PHOTO: AP
“You’re seeing companies start to fail because they can’t refinance. Good companies are being sold down aggressively with the bad,” Tham said.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index fell 18.7, or 17.8 percent, to 86.0, the biggest weekly decline since the index was created on Dec. 31, 1987.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 24 percent for the biggest weekly decline in its more than 50-year history. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 16 percent, the biggest rout since 1992. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 16 percent, the most since January 1998.
TAIPEI
Markets in Taiwan were closed on Friday for the Double Ten public holiday.
Taiwanese share prices are expected to encounter further downside risks as worries over global economic fundamentals continue to haunt the market, dealers said on Thursday.
With listed companies due to release their the third quarter earnings reports later this month, many investors are reluctant to jump into the trading floor until such uncertainty is removed, they added.
It is possible for the market to test the key 5,000-point level and even fall to the 4,600-4,700 point support next week, while resistance at around 5,200 points may cap any technical rebound, dealers said.
In the week to Thursday, the weighted index was down 611.52 points or 10.65 percent at 5,130.71 after a 3.16 percent fall a week earlier.
TOKYO
Japan’s Nikkei stock index plunged 9.62 percent, dealers said.
The Nikkei dived 881.06 points to end at 8,276.43, the lowest level since May 2003, while the TOPIX index of all first section shares sank 64.25 points, or 7.1 percent, to 840.86.
SYDNEY
Australian shares closed down 8.3 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 plunged 360.2 points to 3,960.7, breaking through the 4,000 barrier to its lowest close in more than five years, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 351.9 points to 3,939.4.
HONG KONG
Shares closed down 7.2 percent, dealers said. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 1,146.37 points at 14,796.87, its lowest closing figure since November 2005.
All 42 companies that make up the Hang Seng Index ended the day lower. Dealers were divided about whether the market has hit the bottom.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed 3.57 percent lower, dealers said.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 74.01 points at 2,000.57. The key index fell 12.8 percent this week, the biggest weekly percentage loss since June 13. The Shanghai A-share index shed 3.56 percent to 2,101.30 points, while the Shenzhen A-share index was down 5.55 percent at 558.34.
SEOUL
South Korean shares closed 4.1 percent lower, recovering some ground after a morning decline of almost eight percent, dealers said.
The KOSPI index ended down 53.42 points at 1,241.47.
SINGAPORE
Singapore shares closed 7.34 percent lower, dealers said. The blue-chip Straits Times Index ended down 154.38 points at 1,948.33 — its lowest close since September 2004.
KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysian share prices closed 3.6 percent lower, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 34.88 points to 934.01, off a low of 931.79.
BANGKOK
Thai share prices closed 9.61 percent lower, dealers said. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 48.03 points to close at 451.96 points.
MANILA
Philippine share prices closed 8.3 percent lower, dealers said. The composite index lost 190.64 points to 2,097.80 points.
WELLINGTON
New Zealand shares dived 4.72 percent, dealers said. The NZX-50 index fell 139.08 points to 2,805.31.
MUMBAI
Indian shares closed down 7.07 percent, dealers said. The 30-share SENSEX index fell 800.51 points to 10,527.85.
SOURCE: AFP AND DPA
ECONOMIC RESILIENCE: Only 11.4 percent of Taiwan’s overseas investments last year were in China, and businesses are dispersing their investments elsewhere, Lai said China’s ambition to annex Taiwan is based on a desire to change the rules-based international order, rather than a desire for territorial gains, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview. During an appearance on the talk show The View With Catherine Chang, aired last night, Lai said China aimed to achieve hegemony, and that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was an issue of worldwide concern. During the interview, Lai also discussed his “four-pillar plan” for peace and prosperity, which he first outlined in an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 4 last year. That
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed