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Japanese shares plunge following Wall Street sell-off | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Asian shares have tumbled after a heavy sell-off on Wall Street added to nervousness among investors. | |
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell more than 4% before closing down 2.7% at 17,240.95. Earlier, the index had fallen below the key resistance level of 17,000 for the first time since September. | |
US shares had fallen over 2% as a oil stockpiles report and a Federal Reserve survey suggested more sluggish growth. | |
Weak economic data from Japan also dented investors' confidence. | |
Government data showed that core machinery orders fell 14.4% in November from the previous month. | |
The orders were down for the first time in three months in the world's third largest economy. | |
Plunging oil prices | Plunging oil prices |
Brent crude prices, meanwhile, fell 0.9% to $30.05 a barrel after earlier hitting a fresh 12-year low of $29.73. | |
Bernard Aw, market strategist at trading firm IG, said oil prices would not see much recovery this year amid a supply glut. | Bernard Aw, market strategist at trading firm IG, said oil prices would not see much recovery this year amid a supply glut. |
"Oil prices should continue to remain low, where a sustained pick-up is expected only in the third quarter of 2017," he said in a note on Thursday. | "Oil prices should continue to remain low, where a sustained pick-up is expected only in the third quarter of 2017," he said in a note on Thursday. |
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 share index ended 1.6% lower at 4,909.40, despite the release of better than expected employment data. | |
The unemployment rate in the country was 5.8% in December, with fewer jobs lost than economists were expecting. | |
The country lost 1,000 new jobs, as against expectations of 10,000. | The country lost 1,000 new jobs, as against expectations of 10,000. |
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index closed down 0.9% at 1,900.01 after its central bank kept interest rates unchanged for the seventh consecutive month. | |
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 0.5% lower at 19,830.64 in afternoon trade. | |
Chinese shares recover | |
The Shanghai Composite index was the only bright spot in the region - rising 0.6% to 2,967.35 - as it reversed earlier losses. | |
Regulators had announced late on Wednesday that they had stepped up monitoring share-selling by listed companies' major shareholders. | |
The securities commission also said that its transition to a US-style registration system for listings would be a gradual process and not lead to a surge in initial public offerings (IPOs). | |
The announcement was the latest in a series of measures to support the market after heavy losses since last week. | |
Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's Jakarta composite index was down 1.7% at 4,459.32 after multiple bomb blasts rocked the capital city. |