Asian stocks fell for a fifth day today, set for the biggest weekly decline in a year, after rising US jobless claims deepened concern about economic growth and sparked a global sell-off.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2% to 116.84 at 11:15 a.m. in Tokyo. The index is headed for a 6.7% decline this week and its lowest since July 19, 2006.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped below 20,000-point level. The Hang Seng was last seen down 2.7% at 19,834. The Nikkei in Tokyo crumbled 2.5% to 12,238, while the Kospi in Seoul was down 1.1% at 1410 and the Straits Times in Singapore shed 1.9% to 2576.
The Shanghai Composite in China was down 2% at 2,231 and the Taiex in Taiwan slid 1.6% to 6309.
