This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7191011.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Asian shares fall on US worries Recession fears hit stock markets
(about 2 hours later)
Asian stock markets have dropped sharply amid a growing conviction that the US - the region's key export market - is heading for a recession. European and Asian shares have fallen on continuing fears of a US recession and slowing corporate profit growth.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index closed down 3.35% at its lowest level in 26 months, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading down almost 4%. The UK's FTSE 100 stock index fell 1.3% to 5946.40, while Germany's Dax and France's Cac fell about 1%.
On Tuesday, gloomy results from Citigroup and weak Christmas US retail sales increased fears of a US slowdown. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei index had fallen to its lowest in more than two years, closing 3.4% lower at 13,504.51.
This hit shares in the US and Europe, with London's FTSE 100 index down 3%. The slide in share prices was triggered on Tuesday by a quarterly loss at US bank Citigroup and a report showing weak US retail sales over Christmas.
Tokyo's Nikkei index ended Wednesday down 468.12 points, or 3.35%, at 13,504.51. Indexes tumbled on the news, with the UK FTSE 100 index shedding 3% on Tuesday and the negative sentiment seeping into Wednesday.
Mortgage debt worries Analysts warned that more declines may be on the way as concerns about the corporate and economic environment persist.
One of the main drivers of the sell-off was results from Citigroup showing it made a net loss of almost $10bn for the last three months of 2007 as a result of write downs from bad mortgage-related investments. "The fallout from the Citigroup result is significant," said Trent Muller of ABN Amro Morgan.
"We will see a bit of panic selling with a lot of investors taking cash off the table today."
Francis Lun of Fulbright Securities said that problems in the US, where a slump in the housing market and higher interest rates have amplified concerns, would continue to stalk the markets.
"American financial mismanagement has brought us to this economic meltdown," Mr Lun said.
Mortgage market
Many investors are now predicting that interest rate cuts will be needed to keep the US economy going, and the US dollar fell as a result.
Investors tend to seek out currencies and assets in nations with higher interest rates as that increases their returns.
On Tuesday, Citigroup said that it had made a net loss of almost $10bn (£5bn) for the last three months of 2007 because it had to cut the value of investments that were linked to the US housing market.
The bank, one of the biggest in the world in terms of assets, said the loss had been caused by an $18.1bn exposure to bad mortgage debt.The bank, one of the biggest in the world in terms of assets, said the loss had been caused by an $18.1bn exposure to bad mortgage debt.
This reinforced the extent of the housing crisis in the US, while spurring worries that other banks were still harbouring undisclosed losses.This reinforced the extent of the housing crisis in the US, while spurring worries that other banks were still harbouring undisclosed losses.
"The fallout from the Citigroup result is significant, with many saying ... there is more bad news to come," said Trent Muller, an ABN Amro Morgan analyst in Sydney. On Wednesday, Germany's Dax was trading down 0.9% at 7498.20, while France's Cac shed 1.2% to 5189.99. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed almost 4% lower.
"We will see a bit of panic selling with a lot of investors taking cash off the table today."