Asian Stocks Fall, Extending Global Rout, on Recession Concern

By Chua Kong Ho and Shani Raja

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slumped for a fourth day, extending a global rout, as electronics makers and commodity producers slumped on concern the seizure in credit markets will deepen a global recession.

Sharp Corp. was poised to fall after cutting its annual earnings forecast as the Nikkei 225 Stock Average sank below 10,000 for the first time since December 2003. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, lost 2 percent after metals tumbled. National Australia Bank Ltd. dropped 2.7 percent as Bank of America Corp. halved its dividend after a drop in profit.

``The fear that most major economies are going into recession hasn't abated,'' said Jason Teh, who helps manage the equivalent of $5.7 billion at Investors Mutual Ltd. in Sydney.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 3.2 percent to 97.25 as of 9:26 a.m. in Tokyo, a fourth-straight decline. All 10 industry groups on the index dropped, with financial companies and raw- materials producers contributing the most to the retreat.

Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 5.1 percent to 9,938.98. Mitsui Mining & Smelter Co., the co-owner of Japan's biggest copper smelter, dropped 6.6 percent to 197 yen, after slashing a planned dividend and forecasting a second year of profit declines.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 2.6 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index slid 2.7 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004, falling as much as 800 points at its lowest level. The Standard & Poor's Index retreated 3.9 percent to 1,056.89, extending the worst weekly slump since 2001. S&P futures were little changed today.

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange slumped 5.8 percent, the steepest decline since Aug. 16, 2007. Zinc fell 2.9 percent, copper 7.5 percent and nickel 5.6 percent.

To contact the reporter for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg; Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.