SINGAPORE, OCT 18: Losses on Wall Street rattled Asian stock markets on Monday, with Tokyo and Australia slipping about two per cent and Seoul over four per cent. Shares in Singapore and Thailand slid three per cent, unnerved by the Dow Jones industrial average's 2.6 per cent loss on Friday as well as domestic factors.Traders said they would now be watching US consumer price data, due on Tuesday, for indications of future interest rate movements amid fears of inflationary pressure.A firmer yen also hurt Japanese stocks. The benchmark Nikkei average fell 1.9 per cent to close at 17,275.33. "The fate of the Nikkei will rely on Wall Street for the time being. People can't chase Tokyo stocks higher while New York stocks are not stable," said Yukio Takahashi, manager at Wako Securities Co Ltd.The dollar slid to a fresh two-week low against the yen of104.99 in early Europe trade but recovered to 105.05/10 yen by 0914 GMT. It was traded at 105.40/50 in late New York trade on Friday, and dealers said uncertainty over the prospects of the US economy limited the dollar's strength.The Hong Kong stock market was closed for a public holiday. The Hang Seng ended Friday down 1.5 percent at 12,299.08. Australian shares closed down 2.3 per cent at 2,796.8. "We'll wait a few days and see how it goes (on Wall Street). If it starts to steady up, we'll relax again," said dealer Grant Williams of Reynolds Stockbroking.The Dow fell on Friday after unexpectedly high US producer price data fuelled speculation of an interest rate hike and Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan warned of the possibility of a stock market bubble. "Impact from New York stock market falls on the Seoul bourse has been greater than expected," said Chang Yong-hoon, a Chief analyst at Good Morning Securities.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index tumbled 4.2 per cent to close at 826.25. It was also pressured by programme selling related to the futures market.Taiwan's key index fell one per cent, ending at 7,745.26 as investors sold the financial sector strongly after the finance ministry decided against cutting banks' business tax. Singapore's Straits Times index sank 3.2 per cent to close at 1,993.45. Thailand's benchmark index was down 3.2 percent to 373.17 at 0911 GMT as investors sold finance stocks ahead of anticipated poor third quarter results.Malaysian shares ended down 0.8 percent at 715.29 and Indonesian stocks down 2.6 per cent at 553.213. The impending anniversary on Wednesday of the 1987 Black Monday crash, when the Dow plunged 508 points, was cited as a worry in Malaysia, although it was not mentioned as a factor elsewhere."There is concern that the Dow will fall below the 10,000 point level. It will be a repeat of Black Monday, Black October," a Malaysian dealer said. Philippine shares closed down 0.8 per cent at 1,999.15 after breaching the 2,000 support level.Karachi shares were up 1.9 percent at 1,150.38 after Pakistan's new military ruler raised hopes about the economy's prospects. New Zealand shares closed 1.9 per cent lower at 2,066.49.
