SINGAPORE: World markets fell Friday in the wake of another plunge on Wall Street amid doubts that Washington's bank bailout plan will prevent a
recession in the US and an economic slump around the world.
Dismal data on the US economy — a vital export market — helped send Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average skidding 216.62 points, or 1.9 percent, to 10,938.14, the lowest since May 18, 2005.
Virtually all Asian markets were in the red. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 2.9 percent to 17,682.40, while key indices in Australia, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Thailand also fell. Only Taiwan bucked the regional trend and edged higher.
European markets opened modestly lower, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX down 0.3 percent.
Investors seemed unenthused about the possible passage later Friday of a $700 billion bank rescue plan aimed at stabilizing the U.S. financial system. A revised version of the bailout bill was passed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives was expected to vote on the package Friday, but approval was far from assured.
Still, even if the package passes, investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy — a vital export market — and realize that cleaning up the bad debt mess at the core of the global credit crisis will take a long time.
"The bailout could move us toward a solution, but there are many unresolved issues," said Tim Rocks, Asia strategist at Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. "We're starting to see the first evidence that the U.S. economy is starting to suffer, and this will have an impact on Asia exports through next year."
Wall Street took a dive Thursday as numbers from the U.S. Labor Department showed that initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000, a seven-year high and significantly above analysts' estimates of 475,000.
recession in the US and an economic slump around the world.
Dismal data on the US economy — a vital export market — helped send Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average skidding 216.62 points, or 1.9 percent, to 10,938.14, the lowest since May 18, 2005.
Virtually all Asian markets were in the red. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 2.9 percent to 17,682.40, while key indices in Australia, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Thailand also fell. Only Taiwan bucked the regional trend and edged higher.
European markets opened modestly lower, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX down 0.3 percent.
Investors seemed unenthused about the possible passage later Friday of a $700 billion bank rescue plan aimed at stabilizing the U.S. financial system. A revised version of the bailout bill was passed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives was expected to vote on the package Friday, but approval was far from assured.
Still, even if the package passes, investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy — a vital export market — and realize that cleaning up the bad debt mess at the core of the global credit crisis will take a long time.
"The bailout could move us toward a solution, but there are many unresolved issues," said Tim Rocks, Asia strategist at Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. "We're starting to see the first evidence that the U.S. economy is starting to suffer, and this will have an impact on Asia exports through next year."
Wall Street took a dive Thursday as numbers from the U.S. Labor Department showed that initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000, a seven-year high and significantly above analysts' estimates of 475,000.
