ASIA MARKETS: Regional Stocks Extend String Of Losses

Asian markets fell sharply Friday on worries about the impact of deteriorating global economic conditions, with South Korean shares sliding for a ninth straight session and Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong extending losses into a fifth consecutive trading day.
In Japan, the Nikkei slid as well, with Inpex Holdings Inc. declining as crude-oil prices dropped below $50 a barrel. Exporters such as Honda Motor Co. also lost ground after U.S. stocks dived overnight, and on an appreciation in the yen against the U.S. dollar as investors rolled back risky carry trades.
"The worrying thing is that the declines aren't slowing down, they're speeding up," said Benjamin Collett, head of hedge-fund sales trading at Daiwa Securities SMBC in Hong Kong. "We're looking forward to four quarters of economic data declining at an increasing rate. We're also seeing more layoffs even in the region here ... that is the corporate equivalent of what consumers globally are doing -- look at what they've got and where they can save money.".
China's Shanghai Composite sank 4% to 1,905.01 on reports that mainland unemployment was likely to worsen in the wake of the global economic crisis.
The decline came after Yin Weimin, the minister of human resources and social security, reportedly said the global slowdown had a deep impact on exporters and labor-intensive industries. "Our judgment is that in the first quarter of next year, there will be even greater difficulties," Yin said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.9% to 940.08, after losing 17.7% in the previous eight sessions.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Average dropped as low as 7,406.18 in the morning session before narrowing losses in the afternoon. The benchmark recently was down 1.4% at 7,599.11 while the broader Topix fell 1.7% to 769.47.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.7% to 3,261.70 and New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 2.6% to 2,576.92.
Singapore's Straits Times index slid 2% to 1,581.93, while Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.6% to 4,024.65.
Regional detail
Shares declined across the board in Shanghai, with China Eastern Airlines Corp. (CEA) shedding 9.2%, Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. shrinking 5.1% and China Life Insurance Co. (LFC) dropping 3.9%.
Construction and financial companies ranked among the big losers in Seoul on worries about economic growth, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. losing 6% and GS Engineering & Construction Corp. (GSNGF) slumping 8.4%. Shares of KB Financial Group (KB) plunged 7.3%.
Among Japanese exporters, Honda Motor Co. (HMC) shrank 2.5% and Nintendo Co. ( NTDOY) lost 3%.
The drop in Honda shares, also for a fourth straight session, came after The Wall Street Journal reported the Japanese automaker planned to reduce output in North America by another 18,000 units by the end of March 31, in response to lower sales. Including cuts announced earlier, the company will have reduced production by 50,000 units since August.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar bought 94.26 yen, compared with 95.01 yen late Thursday.
Energy-related stocks also were hurt after December crude-oil prices dropped below $50 a barrel Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ending down $4 at $49.62. The December contract expired overnight. January futures, which closed at $49.42 a barrel Thursday on the Nymex, slipped as much as 82 cents to $48.60 a barrel in electronic trading.
In Tokyo, Inpex Holdings fell 2.4% and commodities trader Marubeni Corp. ( MARUY) slid 2.5%. In Sydney trading, Woodside Petroleum (WOPEY) stock gave up 7.6%, while BHP Billiton (BHP) lost 3.1% for its eighth loss in nine sessions.
In Hong Kong, Cnooc (CEO) lost 5.2% while PetroChina Co. (PTR) gave up 3.3%.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index (SPX) slumped 6.7% to 752.44, a closing level it hasn't seen in more than 11 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI) gave up 5.6% to 7,552.29 and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) lost 5.1% to 1, 316.12.