Asian Stocks Fall On Euro Zone Worries

Most of the Asian markets fell Friday as investors' concerns about the faltering global economy were revived since the Markit Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index, released Thursday, indicated that the economic outlook was worsening.

The Chinese Shanghai Composite fell 0.60 percent or 12.71 points to 2100.36. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.17 percent or 235.03 points to 19897.21. Among major losers were Sands China Ltd (1.93 percent) and China Coal Energy Co Ltd (2.40 percent).

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was down 1.10 percent or 100.94 points to 9077.18. Among major losers were OKUMA Corp (3.03 percent), Minebea Co Ltd (2.87 percent) and Sumco Corp (2.60 percent).

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index dropped 1 percent or 19.52 points to 1923.02. Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd fell 0.78 percent and those of Hyundai Motor Co dropped 0.40 percent.

India's BSE Sensex fell 0.19 percent or 34.62 points to 17815.60. Among major losers were HDIL (1.91 percent), UCO Bank (1.41 percent) and Infosys (1.07 percent).

Market sentiment turned negative with the revival of underlying economic and financial problems in the euro zone. The August purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the euro zone has given further indication that the region is in recession.

The headline composite index for August was 46.6, which was a very slight improvement from 46.5 in July.

The survey provided yet another reminder that a chronic lack of economic growth in the euro zone will continue to act as a major impediment to efforts to bring the debt crisis to an end, Jonathan Loynes, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

The weak euro zone PMI underlines the lingering global risks. The economic crisis in the euro zone has deeply hit the growth in other regions with July export orders in China, Japan and South Korea badly affected.

Also weighing down the market confidence is the fact that China's economy, which is the second largest in the world, is not rebounding as widely expected. The weakness in China's PMI for August suggests that hopes for an economic recovery in the current quarter will not be fulfilled.