Big falls amid financial crisis worries tumbled Asian markets. Taking their cue from Wall Street’s fall to near 12 year lows.

Fears deepen over the ravaging effects of the global financial crisis and the plight of major banks. Financial issues were dragged down by the losses among their U.S peers. Automakers in Japan showed sales of new automobiles plunge 32 percent last month - the steepest decline since 1974.

Uncertainty is driving the market right now. The spectre that there is no end for the global financial woes and the extended losses demonstrate such fears. Furthermore, a steeper fall of the local currency against the U.S Dollar hurt sentiment even further.

The global economic crisis is far from over and it is causing the market to be nervous.

In another scenario, the American Internation Group (AIG) reported a quarterly net loss of USD61.7 Billion. HongKong Bank (HSBC) announced Britain’s largest ever rights issue.

Here in Malaysia, the stock market fell by more than 1.5 percent on Mar 2nd on concerns that the country’s economy is slowing and weaker-than-expected corporate earnings. Similarly, the regional markets were not spared as they are driven by fear of a deepening clobal recession.

The major bourses in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia depreciated between 2.88 percent and 4.43 percent.

Near-term growth outlook remains grim. In the meantime, all eyes will be on Government announcement on Stimulus Packages to inject some level of optimism.

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