| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined for a third day and Commonwealth Bank of Australia slumped the most in almost three months on concerns that more banks will join Citigroup in reporting higher losses on US sub-prime mortgages. |
| China Mobile and China Life Insurance led the Hang Seng Index's biggest drop since the September 11 terrorist attacks. |
| "The sub-prime issue hasn't been solved yet," said Samantha Ho, who oversees more than $5 billion of Hong Kong and China equities at Invesco Asia. Potential delays in allowing Chinese investment in Hong Kong are hurting sentiment, she added. |
| The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index lost 1.9 per cent to 165.43 as of 5:33 pm in Tokyo, having slipped 2.2 per cent from a record close on November 2. |
| The two-day decline is the largest since August 17. Financial shares were the biggest drag among the benchmark's 10 industry groups today. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 1.5 per cent to 16,268.92, while Taiwan and the Philippines were the only markets that rose. |
| Europe Stocks fell in Europe after Citigroup's announcement on additional writedowns suggested financial companies may face more losses. |
| The Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index sank 0.6 per cent to 1,638.04, while Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures dropped 0.9 per cent to 1,503.7 as of 10:55 am in London. |
| The MSCI World has lost 2.6 per cent in three days, retreating from a record, on concern that more banks may follow Citigroup and Merrill Lynch and increase their estimates of losses related to sub-prime mortgages. |
| The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.6 per cent to 377.49. More than three stocks fell for each one that rose. UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX decreased 0.7 per cent, and France's CAC 40 slid 0.8 per cent. |
| US US stock-index futures also bore the brunt after Citigroup said it may write down an additional $11 billion, rekindling concern that sub-prime mortgage losses will grow. |
| "This adds a new doubt," said Salah Seddik, a fund manager at Richelieu Finance in Paris, which oversees $5 billion. "Losses could be more than expected and the return to normalcy is taking longer than we thought. Uncertainty is weighing on financial shares." |
| Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns declined after Lehman Brothers Holdings downgraded its recommendations on the shares. JPMorgan Chase, the third-largest US bank, and American Express fell in Europe. Citigroup advanced after saying CEO Charles Prince is stepping down. |
| Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December sank 12.2 points to 1,505.4 as of 10:31 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures retreated 107 points to 13,535 and Nasdaq 100 Index futures dipped 15.25 points to 2,208.25. |
| Citigroup said on Sunday that Prince is stepping down after sub-prime mortgages and related securities lost as much as $11 billion of their value in the past month, on top of more than $6 billion of charges reported for the third quarter. |
| Merrill, the world's biggest brokerage, lost 58 cents to $56.70 in Germany. Lehman cut its recommendation to "equal weight" from "overweight" and lowered its price estimate to $58 from $79. |
| Merrill CEO Stan O'Neal was ousted on October 30, less than a week after reporting the biggest quarterly loss in the 93-year history of the company. |
| Bear Stearns, the fifth-biggest US securities firm, fell $1.42 to $100.74 in Germany. Lehman also lowered its recommendation on the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight" and reduced its price estimate for the shares to $117 from $145. |
| JPMorgan slipped 51 cents to $42.64 in Germany. American Express, the third-largest US credit-card network, decreased 63 cents to $57.79. |
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