Asia stock markets fall as crude oil prices firm

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1.2 percent to 12,938.50 points--the first time the index has closed under the 13,000 level since July 18.

Hong Kong's blue-chip Hang Seng Index ended 1.5 percent lower at 22,514.92. South Korea and China were down 2 percent or more.

At home and abroad, there were signs of trouble facing the global economy.

Steady oil prices in Monday trade touched off more concerns about inflation and the effect of higher costs on corporate balance sheets.

On Friday, Nissan Motor Co.--Japan's third largest carmaker--reported a nearly 43 percent drop in net profit in the latest quarter, the result of a rising yen and accounting provisions for the declining value of leased vehicles.

In the U.S., meanwhile, jobs and manufacturing data released Friday portrayed an economy that was still sluggish as it entered the second half of the year.

"There is a general malaise about economies slowing down around the world," said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. "No one seems to be doing well."

Late afternoon in Singapore Monday, the September contract for light, sweet crude oil was near $125 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Japan, investors continued to sell stocks this week after driving the Nikkei down 2.11 percent Friday.