Asian stocks fell, with a regional index posting its worst week in almost eight months, as Europe’s debt crisis worsened, U.S. economic data missed estimates and Chinese home prices and investment declined.
Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), a consumer-electronics maker that gets about 35 percent of sales from Europe and America, sank 11 percent in South Korea. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. (3333), China’s second-biggest developer by sales volume, plunged 16 percent in Hong Kong after China’s home prices slid in a record number of mainland cities during April. Hokuetsu Kishu Paper (3865) Co. dropped 14 percent in Tokyo after forecasting a decline in profit.
“Investor sentiment is at its worst,” said Masaru Hamasaki, chief strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of about $23.8 billion. “We don’t know what will happen with Greece, and when something does happen, we don’t know what impact that will have. All people can do is escape from risks, a so-called panic.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Japan Index (MXAP) declined 5.1 percent to 112.58 this
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-18/asian-stocks-tumble-wipe-out-year-s-gains-on-europe-u-s-data.html
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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