Asian shares fall after Wall Street retreat

Asian shares fell on Monday after Wall Street ended last week with a broad retreat, while Thailand’s market saw a moderate loss following the general election.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index tumbled 3.2 per cent to 20,930.27, while the Shanghai Composite index declined 1.1 per cent to 3,072.06. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.8 per cent to 28,583.60.

South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.7 per cent to 2,149.39. The S&P ASX 200 gave up 1.2 per cent to 6,120.60. Shares also were lower across the rest of Southeast Asia.

Wall Street was roiled Friday by new signs that global economic growth is slowing. The jitters triggered a sell-off in stocks and sent bond yields sharply lower, flashing a possible recession warning.

The wave of selling knocked 460 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average and gave the benchmark S&P 500 index its worst day since Jan. 3.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell more than the rest of the market as traders offloaded risker assets.

The S&P 500 index dropped 1.9 per cent to 2,800.71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 1.8 per cent to 25,502.32.

The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, slid 2.5 per cent to 7,642.67. The Russell 2000 lost 3.6 percent, to 1,505.92.

Worried investors shifted money into bonds, which sent yields much lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.43 per cent from 2.54 per cent late Thursday, a big move.

Energy futures continued their slide. Benchmark US crude oil slid 51 cents to $58.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

It lost 1.6 per cent to settle at $59.04 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude shed 48 cents to $66.55 per barrel. It fell 1.2 percent to close at $67.03 a barrel on Friday.

The dollar was lower against the Japanese yen, at 109.85 yen, down from 109.91 yen on Friday. The euro was little changed at $1.1301, down from $1.1303.