Most Asian markets fall on worries about impact of US economy on consumer demand

Most Asian markets fell Monday after the health of the U.S. consumer came into focus at the end of last week and pushed Wall Street to its fourth straight loss.

Worries about the impact of a slowing U.S. economy and weak consumer demand for Asian exports helped to push share prices lower in China and Hong Kong. Japanese stocks slumped after weak Japanese industrial production data weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2.3 percent to 12,525.54 on the last day of a dreary fiscal year. The index has lost 28 percent since the end of March 2007, pushed down by global risk aversion and a lackluster Japanese economy.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.9 percent to 22,849.2, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 3 percent to 3,470.4.

Industrial output in Japan fell 1.2 percent on month in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported early in the day. That was less of a decline than expected, but the second straight month production has dropped.

Steel shares were the big losers in Japan as they were hit by a Nikkei report saying that Tokyo Steel Manufacturing's parent is expected to post a 58 percent drop in operating profit this fiscal year due to rising costs.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing fell 6.8 percent. JFE Steel dropped 5.4 percent. Nippon Steel shed 4.4 percent.

Marubeni plunged 6.6 percent after Lehman Brothers said it filed a lawsuit against the Japanese trading company demanding US$350 million (euro222 million) in an unfolding case of alleged massive fraud.

Marubeni has denied wrongdoing and says it has no obligation to repay the money.

Hong Kong's benchmark was dragged down partly by profit-taking after it gained 10 percent last week.

Market participants had also expected China's securities regulator to announce the timeline for the launch of mainland stock index futures over the weekend, but no announcement was made. Such a move would be seen as a boost to investor interest and a sign that Chinese authorities will act to support the market. When it didn't materialize, companies listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong fell.

In Hong Kong, China Mobile fell 2.1 percent and China Life slid 4.3 percent. Upstream oil company CNOOC dropped 3.2 percent on the concern that the possible acquisition of five small refineries in Shandong may hurt its earnings.

Local analysts said in the absence of any immediate feel-good factors, the Hong Kong market will likely trade in a tight range this week.

In Shanghai, investors worried about weak company earnings as well as the lack of new market boosting measures.

Chinese companies may post poor earnings because of the severe winter weather earlier this year, analysts said, and may also be hurt by a drop-off in U.S. consumer demand.

Most blue chips fell. Baoshan Iron & Steel slipped 7.9 percent. Market heavyweight PetroChina dropped 3.6 percent.

China Telecom fell 4.2 percent after reporting that its net profit dropped 13 percent in 2007.

Elsewhere on Asia's major bourses, indices edged up in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

But on India's main stock exchange in Mumbai, the Sensex index fell 4.4 percent to 15,644.4.

Investors sold blue chip stocks in the banking and technology sectors, reacting to government data released Friday that showed inflation in India was up 6.68 percent for the week ending March 15.

The data fueled worries that the government might act to control prices and cool the economy. ICICI Bank Ltd., was the biggest loser, falling 7.8 percent.

In Tokyo currencies, the dollar was trading at 99.40 yen at 4:50 p.m. (0750 GMT), down from 100.00 yen late Friday in New York. The euro rose to US$1.5783 from US$1.5760.

Wall Street finished last week with a decline following a report that showed personal spending grew its weakest in 17 months in February. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.7 percent to 12,216.4 on Friday to record its fourth straight decline.