Banks Fall on Wall Street Losses - Forex Info

Asian share markets fell Friday, with financial stocks hit by further weakness in their U.S. counterparts and investors cautious as the weekend drew near.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended down 1.9%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.4% and South Korea's Kospi Composite dropped 3.7%, though in the closing minutes each recovered some ground lost earlier in mid-afternoon selling. New Zealand's NZX-50 fell 1.5%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 2.3% in the afternoon session. China's Shanghai Composite Index rebounded from early losses to rise 0.9%, and Taiwan shares fell 2%. India's Sensitive Index lost 2.1% by early afternoon.

"With all the bad news circling the global economic environment, participants aren't willing to hold positions over the weekend, so we've seem some good old Friday profit taking," said IG Markets research analyst Ben Potter.

Chinese stocks in Shanghai flip-flopped in volatile trading, but electronics and petrochemical companies were gaining after the government Thursday authorized further sector-specific stimulus plans, with TCL up 5.4% and Shenzhen Noposion Agrochemicals adding 4.1% in Shenzhen trading.

Hong Kong shares were weak and Tanrich's Jackson Wong warned "the market will be dragged (down) further in the near-term, as the overall outlook on the U.S. market remains negative."

The declines for Asian indexes came after a sell-off in financial names pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its lowest point of the credit crisis and in roughly six years. U.S. stock futures were recently pointing toward a lower opening again, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down 67 points.

"Expectations for the various measures [unveiled by the U.S. government to shore up the economy and financial markets] seem to have turned to distrust," said Hong In-young at HMC Investment Securities in Korea.

Financial stocks across Asia were weak with Westpac down 3.7% and National Australia Bank 2.1% lower in Sydney, and Korea's Shinhan Financial down 4.8%. Japan's Mizuho FG fell 4.1% and Shinsei Bank was down 1.1% while HBSC was off 1.8% in Hong Kong and Taiwan's Cathay Financial Holding dropped 2.3%.

Australia's Macquarie Group was down 5.7% despite an ongoing short selling ban, as Macquarie units, and the overall market, came under pressure as investors analysed corporate results released this week.

Qantas slumped 4.3% after Moody's Investor Service cut the company's long term senior unsecured rating to Baa2 from Baa1, citing a deterioration in Qantas' credit profile.

Bridgestone fell 7.4% in Tokyo after the tire maker released a cautious 2009 outlook on Thursday.

A slumping Korean won hurt shares in Seoul with the market briefly touching its lowest level in nearly 11 weeks. "Foreigners are unloading stocks at a fast pace and they seem to be alarmed by the fast deterioration" in the won, said Park Suk-hyun at Eugene Investment & Securities. The U.S. dollar broke over the KRW1,500 mark early Friday, to touch its highest level since Nov. 26.

New Zealand shares were still being dragged down by concerns about leverage at individual companies and weakness in corporate earnings.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances fell 4.8% with PGG Wrightson plunging 28.1%. Sky Network Television fell 5.7% after saying its first half net profit fell 16.7% from a year earlier, to NZ$42.6 million.

Singapore's Straits Times index was down 1.8% with Malaysia's index down 1%, Philippine shares 1% lower and Indonesian shares slipping 0.7%.

The euro was slightly lower against the U.S. dollar and yen, at $1.2585 from $1.2663 late in New York, and at 118.33 yen, from Y119.51. The dollar was trading around 94.03 yen, down from 94.39 yen.

BNZ strategist Danica Hampton expected the euro to lose more ground against the dollar soon. "I like the idea of selling the euro into rallies -- I'm still concerned about the euro-zone economy and its relationship with the Eastern European economies."

February gold futures were down $4.50 to $971.60 a troy ounce, after slipping $1.60 overnight in New York, but some analysts were still looking for a push in the near term to $1,000, given hefty flows into exchange-traded funds.

March Nymex crude oil futures were down 79 cents at $38.69 a barrel on Globex before the contract's expiry Friday, pulled down by falling U.S. stocks and data showing a record number of Americans are drawing government unemployment benefits. Negative indicators "put a huge dark cloud over the (oil) market," said Tony Rosado, a broker with GA Global Markets.

Earlier in New York, crude jumped 14% to a 10-day high after the Department of Energy reported the first draw on U.S. oil inventories since December.