HONG KONG, June 3: Asian stocks fell sharply on Tuesday due to fears that high inflation threatened economic growth and following a Wall Street tumble triggered by renewed concerns about the global financial crisis.

Japanese shares ended 1.6 per cent lower as questions about the health of major US banks following huge losses caused by the default crisis among riskier -- or “subprime” -- mortgages once again came to the fore.

Those jitters had pushed Wall Street down more than one per cent Monday and set a downbeat tone for Asia, where Taiwan and Australia both closed more than 1.5 per cent lower Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong ended 1.83 per cent down, South Korea closed 1.5 per cent lower and Singapore fell more than per cent. Chinese and Indian shares were in the red too, while New Zealand closed down more than two per cent and Manila ended 1.5 per cent lower.

Investors fear high inflation will hit consumer spending, squeeze business profits and lead to higher borrowing costs as central banks try to curb economic growth to calm prices.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices closed down 1.60 per cent, hit by renewed concerns about the health of major US banks and by a stronger yen, which is bad for exporters, dealers said.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index dropped 230.97 points to end at 14,209.17.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 17.66 points or 1.24 per cent to 1,407.44.

Automaker Honda Motor lost 3.3 per cent to 3,490 yen and Toyota Motor shed 1.3 per cent to 5,400 yen. Semiconductor firm Tokyo Electron fell 2.9 per cent to 7,120 yen and electronics giant Sony gave up 2.9 per cent to 5,360 yen.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed 1.83 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 455.60 points at 24,375.76. Turnover was 83.86 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.75 billion US).

China Unicom suffered the largest drop, by 14.07 per cent to $15.88, after the mobile-phone operator announced it would take over fixed-line operator China Netcom in a share swap valued at 56 billion US dollars.

SYDNEY: Australian stocks closed 1.6 per cent lower, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 88.1 points to 5,574.2 while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 78.2 points to 5,703.0.

Turnover was 2.29 billion shares worth 6.3 billion dollars (6.0 billion US).

Macquarie Group shed 6.0 per cent to close at $50.06.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.07 per cent lower, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index (STI) fell 34.11 points to 3,153.94.

Volume was 1.74 billion Singapore dollars (1.28 billion US).

AmFraser Securities’ analyst Najeeb Jarhom said the further upside for the STI was limited with the resistance level seen at 3,200 points in the near-term.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed down 0.4 per cent, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 4.92 points to 1,257.57.

The government is expected to announce a hike in fuel prices. The immediate impact on shares will be negative, a dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 1.0 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index closed down 23.96 points at 2,403.81.

Coal miner Indo Tambangraya closed down 5.5 per cent at 33,750 rupiah and rival Bumi was down 2.6 per cent at 7,550 on profit taking.Bank Danamon dropped 2.7 per cent at 5,350 on fears high interest rates could reduce margins.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed down 2.32 per cent, dealers said.

The NZX-50 gross index fell 84.17 points to 3,540.06.

Telecom fell 20 cents to 3.82 dollars and Fletcher Building fell 30 cents to 7.70. Contact Energy fell 33 cents to 9.15 dollars.

MUMBAI: Indian share prices closed 0.63 per cent down, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex lost 100.62 points to 15,962.56.—AFP