LONDON (ShareCast) - Nerves about the World Bank's downgrade to 2009 growth forecasts took the Nikkei (news) down over 3% Tuesday with traders embarking on a broad sell-off.
Commodities
suffered the biggest rout as traders, spooked by the prospect of falling demand, took profit or moved into defensive stocks.
Shares in Inpex and trading house Mitsubishi Corp (MBC.IL - news) moved lower as oil prices fell sharply. Nickel producer Sumitomo Metal Mining sank 6.2%.
Financials such as Mizuho Financial buckled on concern about the global economic outlook. Its shares were down 4.8% while Mitsubishi Tokyo fell 3.4%.
The stronger yen hurt exporters such as Toyota, Canon (Berlin: CNN1.BE - news) and Sony (Munich: 853687 - news) .
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 276 points to 9,550 in Tokyo.
The Hang Seng retreated Tuesday, as tumbling commodities outweighed a rally by Bank of China.
Nerves about the global economic loomed over Tuesday's session after the World Bank's warning that it expects the global recession to be deeper than previously thought.
PetroChina fell 2.5% while Cnooc (0883.HK - news) shed 4.3% to HK$9.23 in Hong Kong. Jiangxi Copper retreated 1.5%.
Bank of China rallied 6% on rumours that China's central bank will reduce the amount that lenders need to hold in their reserves.
Heavyweights HSBC (LSE: HSBA.L - news) and China Mobile (0941.HK - news) weighed heavily on the index.
Shares in Li & Fung fell almost 3% after the World Bank's warning
The Hang Seng index closed down 521 points at 17,538 in Hong Kong.
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