Asian stocks slump

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks fell the most in two months after the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations, which comprises the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and Canada, said the global economy is slowing.

Toyota Motor slumped to a 14-month low after the yen climbed against the dollar, eroding the value of sales in the US, the company's biggest overseas market. BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, and Posco declined after G7 finance ministers said ``high'' oil prices and ``weakness'' in US housing may stunt economic expansion.

"Growth will slow," said Geoff Lewis, the Hong Kong-based head of investment services at JF Asset Management, which oversees $100 billion in Asia. ``I would still be more worried about the US housing slump.''

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index fell 1.9 per cent to 162.68 at 6:08 p.m. in Tokyo, its steepest decline since August 17. Benchmarks across the region fell.

Europe
Stocks in Europe fell central bankers said the credit-market turmoil, record oil prices and a housing slump will sap economic growth. Daimler AG, the world's largest truckmaker, and Royal Philips Electronics NV led a decline by companies most sensitive to shifts in the economy.

The MSCI World Index lost 0.7 per cent to 1615.73, while Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures sank 0.7 per cent to 1496 as of 10:53 a.m. in London. More than 11 stocks fell for each one that rose in the MSCI World and all ten industry groups in the measure retreated.

Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 1.5 per cent to 375.3. National benchmarks slid in all of the 17 western European markets that were open. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 1.3 per cent and Germany's DAX sank 0.5 per cent. France's CAC 40 retreated 1.8 per cent.

US
US stock-index futures retreated on concern that earnings reports will show a slowdown in corporate profits is spreading beyond financial companies.

American Express, the third-largest US credit-card network, and drugmakers Schering-Plough and Merck & Co dropped in Europe before reporting earnings. Countrywide Financial fell after Lehman Brothers Holdings recommended selling shares of the biggest US mortgage company.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tumbled 90 to 13,470. Nasdaq-100 Index futures slid 15.50 to 2,134.25.