SF learns how Asia stocks did after US recession fear (photos, video)
BANGKOK -- San Francisco residents are learning in top news today how Asian stocks did in the wake of the Wall Street and Dow Jones calamity yesterday.
The effect on Asian markets of the DJIA falling is important to San Francisco residents because there is a huge Asian population here in the city and the surrounding Bay Area.
San Francisco resident, Jason Tan, said, "It was really looking bad for Asia after the DJIA took a beating yesterday." (See previous article by this Examiner here:SF asks: after DJIA disaster, how is Asia doing? (video))
San Francisco's local news station, ABC 7 Local News reports that Asian stock markets did in fact take a tumble on Friday. That happened because there were real concerns that the U.S. may be heading straight into a recession again and because the debt crisis in Europe is getting worse.
There was a massive sell-off of stocks yesterday that lead to the largest "one-day points decline on Wall Street since the 2008 financial crisis," says ABC 7 News.
Of note was the price of oil which fell to under $86 a barrel. The feeling was rife that a slowing down in the global economy would mean a decreased demand for crude.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Asian markets suffered severe losses on Friday after Thursday's 500 point drop on the Dow. It ended up at 11,383.68. This was the steepest point decline since Dec. 1, 2008, according to ABC 7 News.
At the end of the day, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 3.7 percent to end at 9,303.95 and the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell a total of 4.8 percent to end at 20,844.59. China's Shanghai Composite Index ended up losing 1.9 percent to close at 2,633.52.
"Losses today have been indiscriminate," reported IG Markets strategist Ben Potter to ABC 7 News. "The big question on everyone's mind is what will happen across European and US markets tonight and will there be any form of emergency policy response?"
Putting things in perspective, the decline on Thursday was actually the ninth-worst for the Dow Jones by points. In terms of percentage, the decline of 4.3 percent is not actually the worst ever. That "award" goes to Black Monday,1987. That was the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22 percent.
According to ABC 7 in San Francisco, stock market investors were concerned about Friday's jobs figures for the month of July. These job figures can often set the tone for the stock markets for a couple of weeks.
They were also concerned about debt issues in Europe and how the euro could be stabilized, reported Tom Kaan of Louis Capital Markets in Hong Kong.
Kaan reported to press that investors were waiting to learn whether the U.S. Federal Reserve would introduce a new stimulus package.
"It's a general fear that is clouding the markets at the moment," reported Kaan.
See photo and video related to the Asian markets on the left-hand side. There are pictures of stock exchanges around the world.
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Photo: A photographer takes pictures of a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index at the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 5, 2011. Stocks tumbled around the world on worries that the U.S. economy is weakening and that Europe's debt problems are getting worse. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Photo Credit: ABC 7 News in San Francisco
