World markets fall | Indian markets sink | Markets close

Singapore: World stock markets tumbled on Friday on growing alarm that a global recession will ravage corporate profits.

In Japan, shares of Sony sank more than 14 per cent after it slashed its earnings forecast for the fiscal year. In Germany, Daimler's stock dropped 11.4 per cent in morning trading after it reported lower third-quarter earnings and abandoned its 2008 profit and revenue guidance.

The US dollar meanwhile, plunged below 94 yen, a 13-year low, as traders reacted to dismal US jobs data that spurred speculation the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates.

The combination of the two — the yen's surge and Sony's revision — unnerved investors in Tokyo, who dumped shares of exporters like Toyota, Sony and Panasonic.

Sony's news "was yet another indicator that the global economy is really slowing," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities in Tokyo.

"Investors remain worried over growing uncertainty about the state of the global economy," he said.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average slid 9.6 per cent to 7,649, its first close below 8,000 since May 2003. For the week, the index lost 12 per cent.

European markets opened sharply lower as well, with Germany's DAX falling more than 5 per cent in early trading. Britain's FTSE-100 was down 3.6 per cent.

U.S. stock index futures were down sharply. Both Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index futures were down more than 6 per cent. On Thursday, the Dow rose 2 per cent to 8,691.25.

In currency trading, the dollar fell as low as 92.76 yen, the lowest since August 1995. The euro fell to US$1.2556 from US$1.2895.

"Dollar-selling seems unstoppable. Investors continue to dump the dollar due to ongoing worries over the slowing U.S. economy," said Ikkou Takahashi, currency dealer at Mizuho Bank.

South Korea's stock market also fell sharply as foreign investors fled the country's stock market and figures showed the economy there was slowing. The Kospi dropped 10.6 per cent to 938.75, falling below the 1,000 mark for the first time in more than three years.

For the week, the Kospi has fallen 20.5 per cent, its worst since records began to be kept in 1987. For the year, the index is down just over 50 per cent, a sharp reversal of the bull market in Korean stocks.

Earlier Friday, figures showed that South Korea's economic growth slowed to 3.9 per cent in third quarter, the slowest rate in three years.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 8.3 per cent to 12,618. Markets in India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were also down sharply as investors bailed from emerging markets around the world to cut their exposure to risky assets and meet redemption needs at home. On Thursday, key indices in Russia, Brazil and Mexico also fell.

"Funds are pouring out of emerging markets," said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "A lot of money that flowed into the region during the last five years from the U.S. and Europe is being cashed out. The global crisis has come to Asia."

In Tokyo, dollar-selling intensified as traders reacted to bleak new numbers on the U.S. job market Thursday that showed unemployment claims rising even faster than expected, spurring speculation the Fed might cut rates to help shore up the sagging U.S. economy.

The number of new applications for unemployment insurance rose 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 478,000, above analysts' estimates of 470,000. Jobless claims above 400,000 are considered a sign of recession.

Electronics giant Sony Corp. plummeted 14.1 per cent to 1,972 yen after it cut its annual profit and sales forecasts, blaming deteriorating sales of flat-panel TVs and other gadgets as well as the strong yen.

Sony said Thursday afternoon its net profit for the fiscal year through March 2009 would likely drop 59 per cent from the previous year to 150 billion yen (US$1.5 billion). Previously, it had expected to post 240 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) in profit for the fiscal year.

Panasonic Corp lost 12 per cent and Toyota Motor Corp. shed 6.4 per cent.

Oil fell in Asian trade Friday, with light, sweet crude for December delivery down US$3.26 to US$64.58 a barrel.