Japan Stock Futures Drop; Australian Shares Fall to 4-Year Low

By Kyung Bok Cho

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stock-index futures declined as concern deepened that the financial crisis is dragging the global economy into recession. Australia's main equity index fell to the lowest level in four years.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in December closed at 7,550 in Chicago on Oct. 24, down from 7,620 in Osaka and 7,645 in Singapore, and putting Japan's benchmark index on course for its lowest level since 1982. Nikkei futures opened at 7,480 in Singapore today. U.S.-traded receipts of Canon Inc., the world's biggest digital-camera maker, lost 5 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo on Oct. 24.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.7 percent to 3,804.00 as of 10:30 a.m. in Sydney, heading for its lowest close since November 2004. GPT Group, an Australian real-estate investment trust, plunged 39 percent after selling shares at a discount to repay debt. New Zealand markets are closed for a holiday.

U.S. stocks declined on Oct. 24, extending a global sell-off as concern mounted about the world economy. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 3.5 percent to 876.77, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.6 percent to 8,378.95.

Japan's government may take steps to halt the yen's rapid advance against global currencies, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Oct. 25. That would be the first intervention in currency markets since 2004, according to the newspaper. The government will compile a package of measures to support the country's stock market, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told reporters last night after meeting with Prime Minister Taro Aso.

The yen traded at 92.94 per dollar as of 7:36 a.m. today in Tokyo, from 94.32 in New York on Oct. 24. Japan's currency gained to 116.80 per euro from 118.96.

GPT resumed trading today, falling 39 percent to 70 Australian cents. The company said on Oct. 24 that it sold A$1 billion ($620 million) in a rights offer to institutional investors at a 48 percent discount to its last price before a Oct. 22 trading halt.

To contact the reporter for this story: Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net.