Market Report - Asia Shares Fall, Oil Dips

ZHANG:
Asian shares mostly declined Friday as global recession fears and falling commodity prices sparked selling across the region.

Wall Street's worst two-day slide since 1987 set the stage for further
Asian bearishness, erasing an early-week rally, although policy moves in some nations erased losses.

Oil briefly fell below $60 a barrel, little relief to regional investors who saw it as a sign of the rapid global slowdown.

As the crisis moves from Wall Street to Main Street, Toyota plummeted again as bleak earnings news and rapidly evaporating U.S. car demand hit the world No.1.

Japanese exporters pushed the Nikkei lower, as the yen edged up against the dollar and euro, while the nation's Japan's finance minister decided to loosen rules on bank capital requirements.

In Seoul, the Bank of Korea cut rates by a quarter point, helping shares there. South Korea has offered over $140 billion in the past few weeks to shore up the local banking sector and economy, and analysts expect similar moves ahead elsewhere in the region.

Later today U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to hold his first news conference after meeting with his economic team, as Asia and the world awaits word on how to tackle the crisis

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News & Politics

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