18 Nov 2008, 1835 hrs IST, AP
HONG KONG: Asian stock markets sank on Tuesday after Wall Street retreated and global financial firms announced another round of massive layoffs,
adding to gloom about the world economy. European markets traded lower. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 194.17 points or 2.3% to 8,328.41, a day after confirmation Japan, the world's second largest economy, had slipped into a recession.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 4.5% to 13,131.23. Investors were discomforted by news the financial sector, still struggling more than a year after the subprime crisis erupted in the US and spread to Europe, continues to hemorrhage thousands of jobs. Citigroup Inc. announced overnight nearly 53,000 layoffs in the coming quarters amid massive losses from deteriorating debt tied to bad mortgages. HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's largest bank by market value, said it plans to cut 500 jobs in Asia due to the global economic slump. "The entire world seems to be sinking into recession," said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. Everyday there are corporate layoffs and economic bad news. Slowly but surely they are losing hope in markets." The Shanghai Composite index slid 6.3 per cent after advancing four straight days. Australia's main index declined 3.6 per cent and South Korea's Kospi fell 3.9 per cent. Benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France were lower in early trading.