(30 Mar 2009) SHOTLIST
Tokyo, Japan
1. Mid of trader at Tokyo Stock Exchange
2. Wide of stock exchange
3. Various of traders
4. Wide of stock exchange
5. Various of boards
6. Wide of stock exchange
Hong Kong
7. Wide of Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading floor
8. Mid of share price display board
9. Close up of share price display board
10. Various of traders
11. Close up of electronic display showing Hang Seng Index, a few minutes after market opening on Monday, down 253.11 points to 13,866.39
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Francis Lun, General Manager, Fulbright Securities:
"The market has risen so much, and in such a short time, so it's bound to be subject to profit-taking. Last Friday, Dow Jones lost 170 points, and investors took this chance to sell, and mainly profit-taking."
13. Pan of trading floor
STORYLINE:
Asian stock markets have tumbled as downbeat comments from major US banks and mounting woes at American auto giants underlined that recent optimism about economic recovery might be premature.
Japan's Nikkei 225 sank 390.89 points, or 4.53 percent, to
close at 8,236.00 on Monday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 3.03 percent in afternoon trading, while South Korea's benchmark finished down 3.24 percent.
The falls followed gains on Wall Street last week as stronger than expected earnings reports from leading US companies added to newfound optimism about the world economy.
Industrial production in Japan fell a sharp 9.4 percent in February, the government saidon Monday, as the sharp slump in global demand continued to paralyze the nation's factories.
The figure marks the fifth straight month of decline, with especially steep cutbacks among makers of transportation equipment and general machinery, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Japan, which had relied on foreign sales of its cars and gadgets to drive economic growth, now finds itself mired in its deepest recession since the end of World War II as consumers and companies around the world slash spending. Data last week showed that exports tumbled by a record 49.4 percent in February.
The International Monetary Fund expects the Japanese economy to contract 5.8 percent for the 2009 calendar year, though many economists predict it could be far worse.
Elsewhere, Singapore's key index was down 3.90 percent, while Thai shares were 2.66 percent lower.
Australia's benchmark index closed down 1.85 percent.
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