Asian Markets Down on Global Growth Concerns

Asian markets have extended losses for the second day in the week as concerns of slower growth in China and lower commodity prices shocked investors worldwide.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.1 percent or 140.16 points to 13,135.5 while South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.7 percent or 19.33 points to 1,906.6. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6 percent or 30.01 points to 4,935.7.

The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.3 percent or 8.76 points to 2,175.4 and the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent or 196.16 points to 21,578.

The decline was primarily due to concerns over growth in the global economy arising from soft data from China and the US. China had earlier reported an unexpected slump in its gross domestic product for the first quarter, while manufacturing growth slowed more than expected in New York state in April and US homebuilder sentiment weakened for a third month in a row.

Investor sentiment was also hurt by two simultaneous explosions during the Boston Marathon event on Monday, killing three people and injuring 144.

Meanwhile, gold led the decline in commodities, falling 9 percent to mark the biggest loss since 1983. Gold futures traded in New York suffered a $140 loss after disappointing data from China. Among other commodities, silver and oil also tumbled.

Japan's exporters continued to suffer from the strengthening of the yen in addition to concerns of weakening global demand. The yen's appreciation against the US dollar and the major currencies was contributed by rises in JGB yields, the US Treasury statement on Japanese foreign exchange policy and weak US economic data.

Amid war tensions in the peninsula, the South Korean finance ministry has announced a supplementary budget in a bid to boost economic growth. However, analysts expect that the move is unlikely to help economic growth rising to 3 percent in 2013, as the issuance of bonds as part of the supplementary budget could crowd out some of the growth impact.

Major Movers

In Japan, Sony Corp. slid 5.1 percent and Toyota Motor lost 2.2 percent, while among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shed 3.2 percent.

In Sydney, gold miner Newcrest Mining declined 6.9 percent and Perseus Mining plunged 12.3 percent, while heavyweight BHP Billiton lost 1.9 percent.

In Seoul, Korea Zinc declined 8.4 percent, while steel maker Posco was down 1.9 percent.