From US to India, why this stock rout?

Singapore: Stocks tumbled across Asia on Tuesday, and US stock index futures sank, as panic gripped markets that a U.S. recession could derail global economic growth, sending investors fleeing to safe-haven government bonds.

Share markets from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Seoul and Sydney slumped around 5 percent, while industrial metals, such as zinc and copper, plunged and oil fell well below recent record highs.

"It's like a funeral in here," said Ken Masuda, senior equities dealer at Shinko Securities in Tokyo. "No one knows what's going to happen tonight in New York. It's like we've gone blind, you don't know what's coming.

"Until we see New York, all we can do is sell," he said.

The yen hit a 2-1/2-year high against the dollar as investors reduced their exposure to risky, higher-yielding assets. The strong yen hit Japanese exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp.

"I'm sure we're in a bear market, because the mood is very negative. People no longer believe that stocks are the road to riches," said Cannae Capital Partners managing director Hugh Giddy. "This may be a long slow grind down because earnings expectations will start to fall."

MSCI's All Country World Index fell 1 percent to its lowest since November 2006 after European shares tumbled nearly 6 percent on Monday, their biggest one-day slide since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

MSCI's Emerging Market index, which on Monday had its worst daily fall since August, shed 2.3 per cent.

Japanese treasuries surged as alarmed investors sought the relative safety of government debt. March 10-year futures rose 0.31 point to 138.77 after earlier touching 138.94, the highest since September 2005.

US equity markets, shut on Monday for a holiday, ended Friday with their worst weekly performance since mid-2002, while Asian and European stocks dropped sharply on Monday, with investors unconvinced by Washington's proposed $150 billion fiscal stimulus package.

US stock index futures fell around 5 percent, presaging a sharp sell-off on Wall Street later.

Billionaire investor George Soros said the world was facing the worst financial crisis since World War Two and the United States was threatened with recession, according to an interview with the Austrian daily Standard.

"We really do have a serious financial crisis now," Soros was quoted as saying.

Japan's Nikkei fell 4.4 percent by the midsession, to a two-year low. The index has shed around 17 percent this month alone as fears deepened that the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis will drag global financial markets lower.

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South Korea's technology stocks, heavily dependent on the U.S. export market, were mauled, pushing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index down 3.8 percent to its worst level since May. The KOSPI has lost around 14 percent so far this year.

Hong Kong blue chips tumbled 5.5 percent, with US recession fears dragging bellwether bank HSBC Holdings to lows not seen since October 2003.

Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies sank 7 per cent. The Hang Seng Index is down about 30 percent since a recent peak in late October and off 19 percent this year.

A common definition of a bear market is a fall of around 20 per cent over a recent period or from a recent peak, characterized by a pessimistic outlook.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index shed 4.8 per cent to record its 12th straight session of declines. It hit a low of 5,290.5 -- its lowest intraday level since October 2006.

Mining stocks, sensitive to any economic slowdown, led the decline. BHP Billiton fell 4.7 percent and Rio Tinto tumbled 8.7 percent.

Oil deepened losses as global stock markets tanked. London's Brent crude fell 16 cents to $87.35 a barrel by 0300 GMT, while US crude traded down 2.3 per cent at $88.52 a barrel.