Asian shares fall after retreat on Wall Street

Asian shares fell on Thursday after a retreat on Wall Street driven by sell-offs of technology shares, homebuilders and retailers.

A report of weaker Japanese exports in September underscored uncertainties over the outlook for trade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index sank 0.7 per cent to 22,687.66 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.7 per cent to 2,151.55. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 25,436.62.

The Shanghai Composite index tumbled 2.0 per cent to 2,510.62. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 shed 0.1 per cent to 5,933.20. Shares fell in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, reports AP.

US shares ended with moderate losses after an early slide. Technology stocks fell after IBM reported its biggest loss in five and a half years. It sank 7.6 per cent.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.71 points to 2,809.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 0.4 per cent to 25,706.68. The Nasdaq composite slid 2.79 points to 7,642.70.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks skidded 0.5 per cent to 1,589.60.

The price of US crude oil slipped 7 cents to $69.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped 3 per cent to $69.75 a barrel in New York.

Brent crude, the international standard, lost 8 cents to $79.97 per barrel. It fell 1.7 per cent to $80.05 a barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 112.52 yen from 112.66 yen. The euro fell to $1.1507 from $1.1578.