HONG KONG, July 15: Asian shares sank Tuesday on fears that a deepening US financial sector crisis and soaring oil costs will further sap faltering world economic growth.

Japan, Asia’s biggest bourse, slid nearly two percent, Taiwan tumbled 4.5 percent, Hong

Kong fell 3.8 per cent and

China closed down some 3.5 percent.

The US announced a plan Sunday to shore up crisis-hit mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee almost half of all US home loans.

The Nikkei business daily reported that Japan’s top three banks had about 4.7 trillion yen (44.2 billion dollars) in debt exposure to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as of March 31, adding to market jitters.

TOKYO: Japanese share prices fell sharply to the lowest level in more than three months as global markets suffered a fresh bout of jitters over the health of the US financial sector, dealers said.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nikkei-225 index lost 255.60 points or 1.96 per cent to 12,754.56, the lowest close since April 1.

The broader Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 27.60 points or 2.16 per cent to 1,253.12.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 3.8 percent, dealers said.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 839.69 points at 21,174.77. Turnover was light at 65.79 billion Hong Kong dollars (8.43 billion US).

HSBC fell 3.1 per cent to 113.00 dollars. Bank of Communications declined 4.6 per cent to 9.15 dollars and Bank of China fell 4.3 per cent to 3.35 dollars.

SYDNEY: Australian shares fell more than two percent, dealers said.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 105.3 points, or 2.1 percent, at 4,815.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 97.8 points, or 2.0 per cent, at 4,910.1.

The big miners were also weaker, with BHP Billiton shedding 50 cents to 39.36 dollars and Rio Tinto losing 1.54 dollars to 122.00 dollars.

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 2.53 per cent weaker, dealers said.

The blue chip Straits Times Index dropped 73.37 points to 2,830.75. Volume totalled 1.2 billion shares worth 1.46 billion Singapore dollars (1.07 billion US). Things are not getting any better, said a trader, adding there was no fresh buying interest, only a lot of negative news.

Singapore Airlines fell 40 cents to 14.38 Singapore dollars. Singapore Telecommunications dropped seven cents to 3.46 and Neptune Orient Lines plunged 19 cents to 2.91.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.4 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 16.40 points at 1,127.60.

Tenaga was down 2.5 per cent at 7.95 ringgit, Telekom Malaysia fell 1.8 per cent to 3.22 ringgit and Maybank, the largest bank in Malaysia by assets, lost 2.7 per cent to 7.10 ringgit.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares closed 2.0 per cent lower, dealers said.

The Jakarta Composite Index slipped 44.69 points to 2,214.85.

Telkom fell 6.1 per cent at 6,900 rupiah and Bank Rakyat Indonesia slipped 5.5 per cent at 5,250.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices hit a three-year low after closing down 1.30 percent, dealers said.

The benchmark NZX-50 index lost 39.7 points at 3040.45.

Leading stock Telecom accounted for 76 per cent of turnover, slipping one cent to 3.31 dollars off an intra-day low of 3.26.

MUMBAI: Indian shares closed down 4.91 percent, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index fell 654.32 points to 12,676.19.—AFP.