HONG KONG, April 19: Asian stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday with markets gripped by fears that runaway growth in China has gotten out of hand and would dictate further intervention by Beijing.
Investors had shrugged off a record close on Wall Street overnight and sold down the benchmarks from the opening bell, after Chinese authorities announced they would delay the release of first quarter growth figures.
This fed the regional rumour mill and heavy trades were conducted on the prospect that Chinese growth figures would be much higher than anticipated.
Elsewhere, Singapore slumped 3.21 percent, Jakarta stumbled 2.11 percent, Kuala Lumpur shed 1.68 percent as Bangkok fell 0.73 percent, Mumbai was down 0.38 percent and Wellington by 0.31 per cent.
TOKYO: Share prices closed down 1.67 percent, hit by worries about a stronger yen and heavy losses on China's stock markets ahead of key economic growth figures there.
Dealers said that the falls came despite fresh gains overnight on Wall Street where the Dow Jones index hit a record closing high on upbeat corporate news.
The Nikkei-225 index dropped 295.36 points to 17,371.97. Volume increased to 2.14 billion shares from 1.89 billion on Wednesday.
Japan, like most of Asia, has extensive trade links with China.
HONG KONG: Share prices closed 2.30 per cent lower as profit-taking gathered pace after China's economic data reinforced worries that mainland authorities may take further measures to rein in surging growth.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 477.38 points at 20,299.71. Turnover was heavy at 62.99 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.1 billion US).
SYDNEY: Share prices closed down 1.15 per cent as investors locked in profits after a record-breaking run and responded to a downturn on Asian markets.
The data, which came after the close in Australia, showed the Chinese economy picking up speed in the first quarter although the actual outcome at 11.1 percent growth was largely in line with analyst forecasts.
SINGAPORE: Share prices closed 3.21 per cent lower on fears that China's rapid first quarter economic growth might prompt a further interest rate hike.
The Straits Times Index closed down 109.13 points on volume of 3.86 billion shares worth 2.89 billion dollars (1.92 billion US).
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices closed 1.68 per cent lower on profit-taking following sharp gains earlier in the week.
The composite index closed down 22.27 points at 1,306.36. Volume was 1.80 billion shares worth some 3.26 billion ringgit (950.4 million dollars).
JAKARTA: Share prices closed 2.11 per cent lower with sentiment hit by falls in most East Asian markets.
The composite index closed down 41.324 points at 1,918.353 on volume of 3.41 billion shares valued at 4.34 trillion rupiah (476.66 million dollars).
WELLINGTON: Share prices closed 0.31 per cent lower, in line with declines in leading regional markets.
The NZX-50 gross index fell 12.92 points to 4,180.64 on turnover worth 114.4 million dollars (84.7 million US).
Don Lewthwaite of First NZ Capital said the market was steady during the early part of the session, before easing during the afternoon.
MUMBAI: Share prices fell 0.38 per cent as Asian markets weakened amid concern that China could raise interest rates to curb runaway economic growth.
The 30-share Mumbai Sensex fell 52.49 points to 13,619.7.
