Asia stocks fall after Wall Street sinks

Asian shares extended losses Friday after the Dow Jones industrial average suffered its biggest one-day drop since August and China reported unexpectedly high inflation.

Oil prices hovered near $103 a barrel as traders worried protests in Saudi Arabia could escalate and hamper production in the world’s largest crude exporter. The dollar was down against the yen and the euro.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.9 percent to 10,337.60, with major auto exporters taking hits amid the gloom. Nissan Motor Corp. was down 1.7 percent and Honda Motor Corp. fell 1.5 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.2 percent to 1,957.66 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1 percent at 4,650.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.8 percent to 23,432.85, with energy shares lower, including China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the country’s largest oil refiner, which fell 1.4 percent.

One stock bucking the trend was Macau casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd., which rose 6.8 percent on neighboring Hong Kong’s stock exchange after a struggle for control between casino mogul Stanley Ho and relatives was resolved. Ho, who owns a large stake in the company, announced Thursday he had settled an inheritance dispute.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index drooped 0.3 percent to 2,949.12 after China announced that its February inflation remained elevated at 4.9 percent. Increases in food prices accelerated, adding to pressure for the communist government to control surging living costs that it worries could fuel unrest.

Food price inflation in February jumped to 11 percent over a year earlier, up from January’s 10.3 percent increase. That defied forecasts by many analysts, who expected food prices to ease.

Analysts did not hesitate in blaming the stock market turbulence on oil. Crude prices have jumped $20 a barrel since protests spread through North Africa and the Middle East, raising concerns that the flow of crude oil will be disrupted.

Libya’s oil production has been cut to 500,000 barrels a day from 1.6 million after a rebellion against Moammar Gadhafi began last month. Concerns are growing that similar unrest could spread to the petroleum-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Experts also say consistently high oil prices could undermine the world global economic recovery, despite signs that it has been staying the course.

“We had been leaning toward bumping up our global growth call. Unfortunately, the oil price surge more than cancels out that upgrade,” Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a research report. “The risks around growth are heavily skewed to the downside.”

The report said a global recession would be a real risk if oil prices rose above $150 a barrel on a sustained basis. At $200 a barrel, a global recession is almost certain, it said.

In New York Thursday, weak economic news from China, the U.S. and Spain combined with a slump in oil companies to push stocks sharply lower. The Dow fell 1.9 percent to close at 11,984.61.

Investors were jarred when China reported a surprise trade deficit in February. China’s exports fell in February as businesses closed for the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, but imports of higher-priced oil and other goods jumped, producing a trade deficit for the month of $7.3 billion.

Moody’s downgraded Spain’s debt, re-igniting fears about Europe’s debt crisis. In the U.S., the government reported that new applications for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.9 percent to 1,295.11. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.8 percent to 2,701.02.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 82.79 yen from 83.02 yen in New York late Thursday. The euro rose $1.3822 from $1.3794.

Benchmark crude for April delivery dropped 16 cents to $102.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.68 to settle at $102.70 a barrel Thursday.
Source: AP