HONG KONG, Oct 22: Asian stocks tumbled again on Wednesday -- with the major markets taking big hits -- on growing concerns that the global economy is about to go into a deep recession.

Traders ran to the sidelines across the region, after two days of positive movement, with the yen strengthening as they looked for a safe haven for their money.

The Tokyo market plunged 6.79 per cent as exporters were hit by a stronger currency and as concerns moved to the real economy.

Hong Kong was also battered, shedding 5.2 per cent, dragged down to a three-year low by news that Citic Pacific would be investigated by the city’s market watchdog over improper currency bets. The firm lost almost a quarter of its value after the announcement.

The Beijing-backed company said Monday the bets could cost it up to two billion US dollars.

Sydney was 3.4 per cent lower as commodity prices continued to tumble as the recession fears led to demand worries. Seoul and Singapore also tanked, shedding just over five per cent.

Markets had been nervous all day following a sharp fall on Wall Street on the back of a string of bad corporate results that reaffirmed recessionary fears.

The Dow’s 2.5 per cent drop came despite an offer by the US Federal Reserve to supply up to 540 billion dollars of help to money market mutual funds in its latest response to the financial crisis.

Exporters prefer a weaker yen as it makes buying Japanese goods cheaper.

Oil also felt the effects of the sagging confidence, falling below 70 dollars a barrel in Asian trade, while gold also continued its downward trend as it closed 27 dollars down from Tuesday at 758.00-759.00 US dollars an ounce.

In other markets Manila was 1.1 per cent lower, Wellington shed 1.78 per cent, Kuala Lumpur was 1.5 per cent off and Bangkok lost 2.83 per cent.

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks plunged 6.79 per cent.

While there were hopes that authorities have thwarted a financial system meltdown, fears of a prolonged worldwide economic downturn mounted.

The Nikkei fell 631.56 points to 8,674.69, snapping a three-day rebound.

The Topix index of all first-section shares lost 67.41 points, or 7.05 per cent, to 889.23, following an overnight drop on Wall Street.

A sudden fall in the euro was a negative surprise to investors, said JPMorgan equity strategist Masaru Ohnishi told Dow Jones Newswires.

Mitsubishi UFJ slid 8.8 per cent to 774 yen.

NEC Electronics plunged 20 per cent to an all-time low of 1,210 yen after the firm lowered its earnings outlook.

Sony fell 9.3 per cent to 2,450 yen and Canon lost 6.1 per cent to 3,250 yen.

HONG KONG: Shares closed 5.2 per cent down.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 774.57 points to 14,266.6. Turnover was light at 54.09 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.93 billion US).

Citic Pacific fell 24.69 per cent after the Securities and Futures Commission said it had launched an investigation into its improper currency bets.

The company’s stock has lost 66 per cent of its value since Friday.

SYDNEY: Australian share prices dropped 3.4 per cent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 146.4 points to close at 4,156.1 while the broader All Ordinaries fell 131.4 to 4,120.0.

Turnover was a light 1.09 billion shares worth $3.79 billion (2.53 billion US).

The National Australia Bank gained 4.0 per cent to $25.65 after posting 2009 cash earnings of $3.92 billion Tuesday.

ANZ added 0.8 per cent to $19.00 but the Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 3.0 per cent to 41.89 dollars and Westpac shed 4.6 per cent to 22.05 dollars.

Rio Tinto climbed 5.4 per cent to $78.40 but the world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton fell 7.0 per cent to $27.25 .

SINGAPORE: Shares closed 5.19 per cent lower.

The main Straits Times Index tumbled 99.66 points to 1,821.13.

Singapore Airlines lost 34 cents to 12.30, Singapore Telecommunications skidded 13 cents to 2.47 and Neptune Orient Lines was off 17 cents to 1.29.

For the banks, DBS tumbled 1.04 dollars to 11.60 and United Overseas Bank fell 80 cents to 14.52 dollars.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian stocks fell 1.5 per cent.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 13.88 points to end the day at 904.28.

MISC Bhd and Public Bank lost 20 sen each to 8.40 ringgit and 8.70 ringgit respectively and top lender Maybank fell 10 sen to 5.30 ringgit.

Plantation giant Sime Darby and Tenaga Nasional meanwhile were flat at 6.35 ringgit and 6.45 ringgit each.

JAKARTA: Indonesian shares slumped 4.2 per cent.

The Jakarta Composite Index slid 60.41 points to 1,379.74.

The main index has fallen 50 per cent since the start of 2008.

Bank Mandiri, the nation’s largest bank by assets, fell 9.6 per cent to 1,780 rupiah and Bank Danamon slumped 9.9 per cent to 2,725.

WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed 1.78 per cent lower.

The benchmark NZX-50 index fell 52.62 points to 2,899.40.

Market leader Telecom closed unchanged at $2.44 , Fletcher Building fell 33 cents to 6.12 and Contact Energy was down 24 cents at 7.31 ahead of its annual meeting Thursday.

MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 4.81 per cent.

The 30-share Sensex fell 513.49 points to 10,169.9, snapping a two-day rally.—AFP