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Asian shares lower after Wall St sell-off

Hong Kong - Asian markets mostly fell on Friday as traders followed heavy losses on Wall Street, while the dollar bounced back against the yen after tumbling in New York.

Tokyo sank 0.88% to 16 229.86, while Sydney dropped 1.28% to close at 5 313.4, leaving it in negative territory for the year to date. Seoul fell 0.12% to 2 031.64 and Hong Kong eased 0.38% to 23 678.41.

However, Shanghai reversed morning losses to end 0.11% higher, adding 2.62 points, to 2 347.72

Analysts said the losses could be partially blamed on profit-taking at the end of the quarter after a recent uptrend, while investors contemplate a weak outlook for China and Japan and the likelihood of higher US interest rates from next year.

US stocks turned negative on Thursday, led by a sell-off in Apple, which has been hit by complaints about its new operating system and latest iPhone models.

The Dow tumbled 1.54% and the S&P 500 lost 1.62%. The Nasdaq sank 1.94%.

Adding to downward pressure in New York was news that US durable goods orders plunged 18.2% in August while the Labour Department said new claims for unemployment insurance rose last week.

Japan said on Friday that inflation came in at 3.1% in August. Excluding the impact of a sales tax hike in April, the rise in core consumer prices was 1.1%, well short of the Bank of Japan's ambitious 2.0% target for next year.

Many economists say the central bank may have to further ease monetary policy to offset the long-term impact of a sales tax hike on consumption.

The sharp fall in equities filtered through to the foreign exchange market, where the dollar slipped in US trade Thursday to ¥108.73 from ¥109.30 earlier in Tokyo.

But in afternoon exchanges Friday the greenback edged back ¥109.00.

Struggling euro

The euro was also struggling following a series of results suggesting the eurozone economy's tepid recovery was faltering.

The euro - which hit a two-year low below $1.27 intraday Thursday - bought $1.2745 and ¥138.95 against $1.2750 and ¥138.62 in New York.

On oil markets, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery was down 13 cents to $92.40 while Brent crude for November eased 28c to $96.72 in afternoon trade.

Gold was at 1 223.10 an ounce against $1 225.14 late on Thursday.

In other markets:

- Taipei lost 21.77 points to 8 989.82.

Hon Hai shed 2.9% to Tw$97.1 while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing fell 0.82% to Tw$121.0.

- Wellington shed 24.37 points to 5 253.49.

Fletcher Building was down 0.46% at NZ$8.75 and Spark slipped 1.34% to NZ$2.95.

- Manila closed 0.45% lower, slipping 32.91 points to 7 261.30.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone dropped 1.60% to 3 198.00 pesos and Metropolitan Bank shed 1.49% to 86.00 pesos, while Alliance Global eased 1.15% to 25.85 pesos.

- Jakarta ended down 1.32% at 5 132.56.

Lender Bank Negara Indonesia fell 4.76% to 5 500 rupiah, while food manufacturer Indofood Sukses Makmur rose 0.36% to 6 950 rupiah.

- Singapore closed up 1.22 points, to 3 292.21.

DBS bank rose 0.71% to Sg$18.52 while vehicle distributor Jardine Cycle & Carriage eased 0.30% to Sg$43.28.

- Malaysia's key index lost 2.61 points to end at 1 840.50.

Malayan Banking fell 0.3% to 9.85 ringgit, while Telekom Malaysia shed 0.3% to 6.52. Utility Tenaga Nasional gained 0.2% to 12.28 ringgit.

- Bangkok rose 8.17 points, to 1 600.16.

Bangchak Petroleum gained 3.47% to 37.25 baht, while Bumrungrad Hospital added 2.64% to 136.00 baht.

- Mumbai gained 0.60% or 157.96 points to end at 26  626.32 points.

IndiaBulls Real Estate rose 9.57% to 72.70 rupees, while Suzlon Energy lost 4.98% to 14.30 rupees.

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