Asian stocks continue losses

Asian markets fell for a second successive day on Thursday as another
tumble on Wall Street combined with profit-taking and below-forecast
growth figures from China. Beijing said gross domestic product grew
8.9 percent in the September quarter, which was the strongest
expansion for a year but weaker than the 9.1 percent expected by
analysts. Tokyo shed 0.64 percent, Hong Kong 0.48 percent and Seoul
1.42 percent. Shanghai was 0.62 percent off and Sydney eased 0.53
percent The losses also came after some regional markets earlier this
week touched highs not seen for more than a year. However,
commodities stocks were partially protected by crude holding above 80
dollars a barrel. TOKYO: Down 0.64 percent. The Nikkei-225 dropped
66.22 points to 10 , 267.17. HONG KONG: Down 0.48 percent. The Hang
Seng Index fell 107.59 points to 22 , 210.52. Profit-taking in
property developers also pushed the market down. SYDNEY: Down 0.53
percent. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 25.8 points to 4 ,812.8. SHANGHAI:
Down 0.62 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A
and B shares, was down 19.18 points to 3 , 051.41. The key index
rose 11 percent between September 30 and Tuesday. SEOUL: Down 1.42
percent. The KOSPI ended down 23.53 points at 1 , 630.33. TAIPEI:
Down 1.21 percent. The weighted index dropped 93.57 points to 7 ,
607.93. SINGAPORE: Down 0.39 percent. The Straits Times Index fell
10.58 points to 2 , 681.97. BANGKOK: Down 1.06 percent. The Stock
Exchange of Thailand fell 7.59 points to close at 708.76. KUALA
LUMPUR: Flat. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 0.04 points to 1
, 260.02. JAKARTA: Down 1.76 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index
lost 43.61 points to 2 , 433.18. MANILA: Down 1.07 percent. The
composite index lost 31.18 points to 2 , 888.72. MUMBAI: Down 1.29
percent. The 30- share Sensex fell 219.43 points to 16 , 789.74.