23.06.09 Asian markets continue big falls
Asian shares have fallen in Tuesday trading, echoing declines in both the US and Europe following a downbeat World Bank report.
Japan\'s main Nikkei index was 3.4% lower, while Hong Kong\'s Hang Seng had shed 3.2%, after the World Bank study said emerging economies are slowing.
The report also hit global oil and metal prices, with firms in those sectors leading the share falls.
US light crude was down $1.10 to $66.40 a barrel in early Tuesday trading.
On Monday it had fallen by $2.76 a barrel. London\'s Brent crude also continued to slide, dropping a further 98 cents to $66 a barrel.
The US\'s Dow Jones share index fell 2.4% on Monday, while the UK\'s FTSE 100 index shed 2.6%.
\'Surprised people\'
The World Bank said it expected GDP in developing countries to grow by just 1.2% this year, compared with 5.9% in 2008 and 8.1% in 2007.
Australian shares were also lower on Tuesday, with the main index there dropping 3%.
Energy analyst Ben Westmore of National Australia Bank in Melbourne said the World Bank report had come as an unpleasant surprise.
\"Financial markets were expecting a quicker recovery [to the global economy], so for the World Bank to make such a large revision down surprised people,\" he said
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8114116.stm
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