Asian equities continued to fall on renewed concerns that the Chinese slowdown is negatively impacting the recovery of the global economy. In fact, the news of these days is that the Chinese GDP expanded "only" by 7,7%, a percentage below analysts' estimates, and that industrial production settled at 8,9% against a forecast by 10,1 percent.
The decline was led by the mining sector, which suffered from lower commodity prices.
Among commodity stocks, BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining group, fell 1,6% in Sydney. Newcrest Mining, Australia's largest gold producer, plunged 5,8% at a time when bullion prices suffered the worst plunge in three decades. On the manufacturing front, Sony, maker of Bravia TVs and PlayStation consoles, fell 5,1% on concerns that a strengthening yen could hurt overseas earnings.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index lost 0,8% to 135.98 as of 10:33 am in Tokyo, with four stocks falling for each stock rising. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 1,1% and South Korea's Kospi was down 0,4%. Taiwan's Taiex shed 0,3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1 percent.
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