WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Asian markets fall as China plunges nearly 7%
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-31 20:15
The heavy selling in China, where quick economic growth and soaring equity prices have helped underpin optimism among Asia investors this year, weighed on sentiment across the region. Chinese share prices rose more than 80 percent earlier this year before falling back in mid-August. The months long rally coincided with unprecedented lending aimed at fighting off the economic downturn. Many in China believe that a big chunk of the lending found its way into property and share markets, fueling bubbles in asset prices, though the extent to which such funds were illicitly diverted into speculative investments remains unclear. On Friday, Wall Street ended the week on a down note, with the Dow falling 36.43, or 0.4 percent, to 9,544.20 in somewhat quiet trade. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.05, or 0.3 percent, to 1,027.76, while Nasdaq composite index rose 1.04, or 0.1 percent, to 2,028.77. Crude oil prices dropped in Asia, with the benchmark contract for October delivery lower by $1.14 at $71.62 a barrel. The contract rose 25 cents on Friday. The dollar fell to 93.02 yen from 93.42 yen. The euro traded lower at $1.4288 from $1.4306.
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