Asian markets fall on financial turmoil fears
SINGAPORE (AP): Asian stock markets plunged Monday as investors shrugged off Washington's passage of a US$700 billion bailout plan amid signs that financial turmoil is deepening in Europe, threatening to slow global economic growth.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average was down 3 percent to 10,615, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 2.7 percent to 17,198.
Trading in mainland China, shut for a weeklong holiday, resumed with the main Shanghai index sinking 3.5 percent to 2,213.
Key indices in Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also fell sharply. Indonesia's key index plunged more than 5 percent.
Traders were spooked by Germany's announcement Sunday of a new bailout package totaling 50 billion euros (US$69 billion) for Hypo Real Estate, the country's second-biggest commercial property lender, part of a scramble by European governments to save failing banks.