Bangkok - Asian stock markets tumbled on Monday as downbeat comments from major US banks and mounting woes at American auto giants underlined that recent optimism about economic recovery might be premature.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average sank 373.53 points, to 8,253.44, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 427.51, to 13,691.99. South Korea's benchmark was down 3.1% while markets in Singapore, Australia and Thailand fell about 2% or more.
Asia's retreat followed a sell-off on Friday on Wall Street where investors booked profits on the Dow Jones industrial average's 21% gain over 13 trading days.
Data showing a dip in US personal incomes and a slowdown in personal spending were reminders that the world's largest economy and its banking system remain troubled.
Investors in Asia were also unnerved by reports that the chief executives of JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America both said business conditions had got tougher since they reported being profitable for January and February.
"The comments from these two banks show that problems in the US financial sector aren't over and that's negative for sentiment," said Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong.
Poor industrial data
"Investors are also cautious before US employment data this week. If the unemployment rate continues to rise that will be a problem for the US and for stock markets in countries like Japan that rely on the US economy," he said.
Adding to the gloom, data released on Monday in Japan showed that industrial production in the world's second-largest economy fell 9.4% in February as the sharp slump in global demand continued to paralyse the nation's factories.
In Tokyo trade, shares of automakers fell after the White House said ailing automakers General Motors and Chrysler had not submitted acceptable plans to receive billions more in bailout money, increasing the odds the two American auto giants will eventually file for bankruptcy protection.
Japanese automakers have said the possible collapse of major US automakers would hurt them as well by putting pressure on US-based car parts suppliers. Potential job losses would also weigh on consumer spending.
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, was down 3.4%. Nissan slid 7.2% and Honda sank 6.5%.
Financial shares were also weak in Asia. In Seoul, KB Financial Group was down 6.5% and Mitsubishi UFJ Finance dived 7.6% in Tokyo.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrials fell 148.38, to 7,776.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 16.92, to 815.94 and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 41.80, to 1,545.20.
Stock futures pointed to more losses on Monday on Wall Street. Dow futures fell 125, to 7,637 and S&P500 futures were off 15.5, at 800.60.
In oil markets, prices tumbled to below $52 a barrel as investors cashed in on recent gains, and in tandem with Wall Street's pullback on Friday. Benchmark crude for May delivery fell $1.22 to $51.16 by early afternoon in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.96 to settle at $52.38 on Friday.
- AP