Asian shares slide on signs of slowing growth
Asian shares slide on signs of slowing global growth; Europe gains after tumble
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A man walks past the share prices board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010. Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 187.65 points, or 2.0 percent, to end the Thursday morning trading session at 9,105.20. Asian stock markets are lower after a host of bad financial news sent stocks tumbling in the U.S. and Europe. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
On Thursday August 12, 2010, 4:22 am EDT
BANGKOK (AP) -- Asian markets tumbled Thursday as investors dumped riskier assets like stocks amid growing evidence the world economic recovery is stumbling. European shares posted moderate gains after a big drop the day before.
The third day of losses in Asia came after steep falls on Wall Street that were triggered by troubling economic news. The U.S. trade deficit widened in June to its highest level in 20 months as exports fell -- a sign of a slowdown in manufacturing and sputtering recovery in the world's No. 1 economy.
Indicators from China, an important engine of growth within Asia, have also been discouraging. Expansion in imports, factory production, retail sales and new investment have all slowed, suggesting China's rapid rebound from the global recession is cooling.
The bad news from the U.S. and Asia combined with a moribund European economy has contributed to fears that the world economy will slip into recession again.
"The global economy is uncertain but it is not to the extent that a recession as deep as the one in 2008 will return," said Lim Ji-won, economist at JP Morgan in Seoul.
As trading got underway in Europe, France's CAC-40 was up 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX added 0.2 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent. Wall Street was set for a small rise with Dow futures gaining 16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,353. Broader S&P futures were higher by 1.9, or 0.2 percent, at 1,086.90.
In Japan, a strong yen that is adding to the challenges faced by the country's exporters continued to weigh on stocks. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average shed 80.26 points, or 0.9 percent, to 9,212.59.
South Korea's Kospi dived 2.1 percent to 1,721.75, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2 percent to 4,400.90 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.9 percent to 21,105.71.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.7 percent to a two-week low of 2,575.48. Taiwan, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were among other losing markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average on Wednesday fell 2.5 percent to 10,378.83, its largest slide since June 29. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index tumbled 2.8 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3 percent. All the major U.S. indexes are now showing losses for the year.
In currencies, the dollar regained some ground against the yen, rising to 85.62 from 85.16 in New York late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.2917 from $1.2850.
Benchmark crude for September deliver was down 9 cents at $77.93 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slid $2.23 to settle at $78.02 on Wednesday.
Associated Press writer Sangwon Yoon
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