Asian shares sink after Wall St sell-off

HONG KONG: Asian markets tumbled Friday as traders followed heavy losses on Wall Street, while the dollar retreated from the previous day´s highs against the yen.

Tokyo slipped 1.32 percent, Hong Kong lost 0.88 percent, Sydney shed 1.01 percent, Seoul was 0.35 percent lower and Shanghai gave up 0.63 percent.

Analysts said the losses could be partially blamed on profit-taking at the end of the quarter after a recent uptrend, while investors contemplate a weak outlook for China and Japan and the likelihood of higher US interest rates from next year.

US stocks turned negative Thursday, led by a sell-off in Apple as the tech giant is hit by complaints about its new operating system and its latest iPhone models.

The Dow tumbled 1.54 percent and the S&P 500 lost 1.62 percent. The Nasdaq sank 1.94 percent.

Adding to downward pressure in New York was news that US durable goods orders plunged 18.2 percent in August while the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance rose last week.

In Japan official figures showed consumer inflation slowed further in August, highlighting the tough fight the government and central bank have in fending off deflation.

The sharp fall in equities filtered through to the foreign exchange market, where the dollar slipped in US trade Thursday to 108.73 yen from 109.30 yen earlier in Tokyo.

And in morning exchanges Friday the greenback was at 108.72 yen.

The euro was also struggling following a series of results suggesting the eurozone economy´s tepid recovery was faltering.

The euro -- which hit a two-year low below $1.27 intraday Thursday -- bought $1.2751 and 138.64 yen against $1.2750 and 138.62 yen in New York.

On oil markets US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose 11 cents $92.64 while Brent crude for November gained two cents to $97.02. Gold was at $1,224.15 (0230 GMT) an ounce against $1,225.14 late Thursday. (AFP)