Market Report - Panic Grips Asian Investors

ZHANG:
Asian shares plummeted in quick reaction Friday to the Wall Street nosedive, as investor panic reigned across the region. The market carnage was swift and steep across Asia with multi-year lows seen from Sydney to Seoul.
The Nikkei at one point fell over 10 percent and was poised for its biggest drop since 1987, while Korean shares fell so rapidly the exchange suspended program sales for five minutes.

Reuters equities editor-in-charge Nathan Layne says risk aversion is still the prevailing sentiment.

[Nathan Layne, Reuters Equities Editor]:
"We've haven't seen anything like this obviously since 1987 when the big stock market crash happened and I think we're at that level yet the notion we're already in a crisis and there's no end in sight and that's why people are dumping stocks."

Treasury yields tumbled across Asia as investors fled scorched equity markets for the relative safety of sovereign debt and gold, which jumped nearly 40 dollars an ounce.

Singapore confirmed what many other Asian nations are expected to soon announce -- that its economy is in recession, and the central bank cut rates in response.

Ahead of a Group of Seven nations meeting later Friday, traders say coordinated central bank actions so far have not eased investor fear or funding tightness, while even more action is now expected.

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News & Politics

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