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Asian stocks tumble

AFP, Hong Kong
Asian stocks suffered fresh turmoil Monday as investors (lumped both stocks and the dollar on fears more US banks could be vulnerable to the credit crisis that crippled investment bank Bear Stearns, dealers said.
I hey said an emergency cut by the US Federal Reserve to ils discount rate and a weekend deal for JPMorgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns at a fire-sale price had added to a sense of crisis sweeping through global financial markets.
Ihe volatility spilled over into commodities as oil prices soared to fresh highs and gold prices jumped as investors looked to safe havens.
Tokyo stocks plunged by more than 4.0 percent at one point before recovering some ground to close 3.7 percent lower.
Hong Kong was down 5.2 percent, Shanghai declined 3.6 percent, Seoul gave up 1.6 percent and Sydney declined 2.3 percent. Wellington was off 2.04 percent, Taipei slumped 1.91 percent, Singapore shed 1.63 percent, Manila tumbled 3.9 percent, Jakarta fell 3.0 percent and Bangkok was down 1.38 percent.
The rout came as the dollar slumped to a fresh record low against the euro and a 12-year trough against the yen, as traders braced for a hefty cut to the Fed’s main federal funds rate later this week.
The Federal Reserve late Sunday cut its discount rate a quarter-point for certain financial institutions and said it would offer immediate liquidity to the brokerage system "to promote orderly market functioning."
JPMorgan Chase announced it would acquire Bear Stearns for about two dollars a share, making the sale worth about 236 million dollars, a tiny fraction of the storied bank's stock market value of 3.54 billion dollars on Friday.
Bear Stearns, among the hardest hit by the collapse of the US subprime or high-risk mortgage market, said Friday it was getting an emergency loan from JPMorgan Chase, backed by the Federal Reserve, due to liquidity problems.
From Mumbai in India to Wellington in New Zealand the voices of investors had a familiar ring with fears that Asian economies would not be able to withstand the latest stream of bad news. Only in a few instances, such as the upcoming elections in Taiwan, did events outside the US appear to have any impact on prices.
"The spillover from the US credit crisis can be a knock-on to Indian companies and lead to lower earnings in the near term," said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, chief executive of Mumbai-based Tata Asset Management.
"The Indian market is not immune to the crisis."
Indeed Mumbai was the worst hit market plunging 6.03 percent Monday with dealers warning that US weakness will impact local companyearnings.
They said firms with major US business links such as software outsourcing may see sharp earnings declines for the quarter ending March 31.
The 30-share benchmark Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index fell 951.03
points to 14,809.49.
At the other side of Asia in Tokyo, stocks were pushed lower and the dollar slid to 12-year lows against the Japanese currency, dipping briefly below 97 yen in Tokyo trade, down about 3.5 percent from levels in NewYork late Friday.
The Bear Stearns deal only "aggravates market concerns over the credit crisis," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.
"The purchase price seems too low, creating uncertainty" about how shareholders will react, Monji said.
The fear among investors is that other banks may also be experiencing a cash crunch, dealers said.
HONG KONG: Hong Kong share prices closed down 5.2 percent, further depressed by sharp falls on the mainland Chinese market in Shanghai, dealers said.
"The market's obsession with a few weak financial institutions like Bear Stearns outweighs many factors in the US economy which remain intrinsically sound," said Howard Gorges, vice chair-man at South China Securities.
"There is a lot of negativity out there and we are in a situation in which a spate of bad news has rattled markets all around the world," he said.
"Many investors have taken two main lines of defense -- sell down stocks or stay on the sidelines."
SHANGHAI: Chinese share prices closed 3.60 percent "Market sentiment has become much weaker after recent heavy falls. So any piece of bad news, including the US subprime crisis, will severely hit investor confidence," said Cao Xuefeng, an analyst at West China Securities.
Investors were also unsettled after central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan indicated a potential hike in interest rates and the reserve requirement ratio, in a report published Monday.
TAIPEI: Taiwan share prices closed 1.91 percent with more positive local news unable to shake the overall gloom.
Investors were generally cautious ahead of Saturday's presidential election but tourism, transport, and property-backed shares per-
formed well.
Dealers said they were seen benefitting from expectations of a victory for opposition Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged lo forge closer economic relations with mainland China.
SEOUL: South Korean share prices closed 1.6 percent lower as investors reacted negatively to the won's continued fall against the dollar, fretting about its upward pressure on import prices.
"The fresh twist in the global credit market turmoil literally engulfed regional markets and the KOSPI was hot spared from the shockwave," said Kang Moon-Sung, an analyst at Korea Investment Securities.
SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed 1.63 percent lower as investors con-tinue to fear the worst from the US economy after the emergency fire-sale of US investment bank Bear Stearns.
"The negative news flow that has affected equity markets has yet to run its course and investors should avoid taking large positions until
after April, when a clearer picture of the US economy emerges," said DBS Vickers in a note.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian share prices closed 1.5 percent lower.
Stephen Soo, analyst at TA Securities said trading volume on the bourse remains thin, suggesting investors are still sidelined as there are concerns that US stocks may experience a further sell-off.
"The market is very sentiment-driven and there may be more downside for the bourse in the immediate term," he said.
The bourse plunged 7.8 percent last week as investors-fled the stock market after the ruling coalition suffered its worst-ever defeat in the March 8 polls, conceding five of the country's 13 states to the opposition.
BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed down 1.38 percent. "The market fell today because foreign investors dumped their stocks due to fears over a recession of the US economy, said Pichai Lertsupongkit, senior vice president at Thanachart Securities.