(RTTNews) - With doubts over an economic revival surfacing again on the back of some disappointing data from the U.S., markets across Asia-Pacific region are down in the red on Monday with most of them hitting multi-week lows, tracing the sharp setback suffered by Wall Street last Friday. With the leading U.S. lender CIT Group filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, financial stocks are among the worst hit in the sell-off. Though some markets are seen finding some support at lower levels, the mood remains quite bearish across the region.

In the Australian market, financials, energy, materials, technology and consumer discretionary stocks are down with sharp losses.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which dropped down to 4,517 in early trades, is currently down 88.2 points, or 1.9%, at 4,555. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,561, down 85.9 points, or 1.9%, from its previous close.

Key bank stocks ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation are trading lower by 2%-3.5%. Diversified financials stock Macquarie Group is down nearly 5%.

In the energy space, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search are trading lower by 1.5%-2%, while Origin Energy is also trading in the red, though with a less pronounced loss.

Top miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are down by 2.5% and 3.5%. Newcrest Mining is down with a modest loss. Bluescope Steel, Fortescue Metals, Orica and Incitec Pivot are also trading lower.

In economic news, the Australian house price index rose 4.2% in the September quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. This compares with an unrevised 4.2% in the June quarter. In the year to September, the house price index rose 6.2%.

The TD Securities-Melbourne institute Monthly inflation gauge showed that prices fell by 0.3% in October following a flat result in September and August. According to the survey, in annual terms, inflation grew by 1.2% in the year to October, far below the Reserve Bank of Australia’s inflation target of two to three per cent.

Meanwhile, new government figures show the number of jobless people is expected to be nearly 250,000 fewer than forecast in the May budget. The government released its 2009-10 mid year economic and fiscal outlook (MYEFO) on Monday, which has upgraded growth forecasts and slashed unemployment expectations.

The economy is now expected to grow 1.5% in 2009-10, against an earlier forecast of a 0.5% contraction. The peak in the unemployment rate is now seen at 6.75% in 2009-10 rather than the 8.5% in 2010-11.

The Japanese market is also down sharply in the red with participants indulging in heavy selling across the board. Besides weak economic reports from U.S., a stronger yen is also contributing significantly to the decline in Tokyo.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which tumbled to around 9,736, is currently trading at 9,811, down 223.74 points, or 2.23% from its previous close.

U.S. moneylender CIT Group Inc.’s filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has triggered some selling in Japanese bank stocks. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Bank of Yokohama and Chiba Bank are trading notably lower.

Automobile stocks Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Suzuki Motor and Mazda Motor are trading weak.

Shares of Panasonic Corp. declined with concerns about the yen’s appreciation and sluggish U.S. stocks outweighing optimism over the firm’s earnings upgrade on Friday. The stock is trading lower by over 2%.

Food, chemicals, textiles and pharmaceuticals stocks are mostly trading in negative territory. Steel, non-ferrous metals, machinery and electric machinery stocks are also trading weak, with many of them posting sharp losses. Not much buying is seen in shares of trading houses, securities firms and insurance companies as well.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 89-yen zone early Monday in Tokyo, down from its Friday’s quotes in New York. In early trades, the dollar fetched 89.71-89.72 yen against Friday’s close of 91.09-91.12 yen in Tokyo. The yen is currently trading at 89.92 to the U.S. dollar.

The South Korean market is trading in the red despite a few front line stocks from shipping and technology sectors finding some modest support at lower levels.

The benchmark KOSPI index, which drifted down to 1,543 in early trades, is currently down with a loss of 12.7 points, or 0.8%, at 1,568.

Among bank stocks, Korea Exchange Bank and Woori Finance are trading lower by 4.3% and 3%, respectively. Shinhan Financial and KB Financial are both down by about 1.5%.

In the automobile space, Hyundai Motor is trading nearly 4% down. Ssangyong Motor is down with a 2% loss, while Kia Motor is trading flat.

Steel stocks Hyundai Steel and POSCO are down 2.7% and 2%, respectively. Oil stocks are also trading notably lower. Telecom and airline stocks are trading mixed.

In the shipping space, Hyundai Heavy Industries is up 2.2%, Samsung Heavy Industries is gaining about 0.7% and Daewoo Shipbuilding is trading 0.6% up, while bulk carrier STX Pan Ocean is trading in negative territory with a 1.3% loss.

Among tech stocks, Hynix Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and LG Display LCD are trading flat, while LG Electronics is down 1.8% from its previous close.

Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong, Indonesia and New Zealand are down with sharp losses. Singapore and Taiwan have regained most of the lost ground and are currently down just modestly lower. The Shanghai market has edged up into positive territory, recording a small gain.

On Wall Street, stocks declined sharply with a batch of mixed economic data raising doubts about economic recovery. Consumer sentiment in the month of October came in below the final reading for September and poor labor market conditions impacted consumer spending in September, offsetting a positive data that revealed an unexpected expansion in the Chicago-area manufacturing sector in October.

The Dow ended lower by nearly 250 points, or 2.5%, at 9,712.7, the Nasal fell 52.4 points, or 2.5%, to 2,045.1 and the S&P 500 closed down 29.9 points, or 2.8%, at 1,036.2.

Major European markets ended with heavy losses on Friday. The O.K. FTSE 100 closed down by 1.8%, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index lost 2.9% and 3%, respectively.

Crude oil finished sharply lower on Friday as a notable decline in equities raised concerns about the prospects for energy demand. A stronger dollar also lessened oil’s hedge appeal. Light sweet crude for December dropped to US$77 per barrel, down US$2.87 on the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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