By DPA
Tokyo : Asian stocks plunged Wednesday after a drop in a US service-sector index prompted speculation that the world’s largest economy might have already entered a recession.
The region’s biggest drop was seen in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index fell 5.4 percent to 23,469.46 in a half-day of trading ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which begins Thursday.
In Tokyo, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 4.13 percent in morning trading to 13,178.16 while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues also declined 3.72 percent to 1,305.03.
Upon reopening for the afternoon session, the Nikkei was down 4 percent and the Topix 3.6 percent.
Stocks plunged across the board after the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest single-day point loss since August and the Standard and Poor’s 500 saw its biggest drop in nearly a year over a decline in the index for the key US service industry.
The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index shrank at the fastest pace since 2001 in January.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was down 3.5 percent to 2,932.08, also in a half-day of trading.
In Australia, the ASX200 index gave up 2.87 percent to close at 5,626.4.
In South East Asia, the Jakarta Composite Index fell 3.18 percent, the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index was down 1.82 percent, the Philippine Stock Exchange’s 30-share composite index dropped 1.67 percent and the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index shed 1.34 percent.
Indian markets also saw substantial drops shortly after opening with the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensex index down 2.79 percent and the National Stock Exchange’s broader 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty down 2.82 percent.
Many markets in the region were closed for the day, however, for holidays: mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea for the Chinese New Year and New Zealand for Waitangi Day, its national day.
Shares leading declines included companies doing business in the US, such as Li and Fung Ltd, a Hong Kong-based supplier for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Nintendo Co in Japan.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which is closed for the rest of the week, is now down 25 percent from its peak of 32,000 on Oct 30.
Australian-British dual listed firm BHP Billiton Ltd, the world’s largest mining company, say its stock fall the most in 20 years in Sydney after it raised its hostile takeover offer for the Rio Tinto Group.