ASIA-Shares to fall as global markets hit

WELLINGTON: Asian stocks face a battering on Friday, as fears of major economies sliding back into recession gripped investors and sent stocks tumbling.

Poor U.S. data, sovereign debt concerns and worries over the health of banks were seen by many investors as adding up to a bleak economic outlook.

The main Wall Street indices fell between 3.7 percent and 5.2 percent, with TECHNOLOGY [] and bank shares the hardest hit.

A gauge of Mid-Atlantic factory activity showed a drop in August to its lowest level since March 2009. For details, see

Investors flocked to safe havens, with spot gold and the yield on ten-year British and German government bonds hitting record highs.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street fell 4.75 while world stocks, as measured by the MSCI world equity index, shed 4.16 percent.

British shares fell 4.5 percent while European shares shed 4.8 percent, with the markets posting their worst one-day falls in more than two years, as fears grew the euro zone debt crisis was spreading.

The U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen rose on the flight to safety, but the Swiss franc was unable to gain on fears of further central bank intervention to halt the currency's rise.

Japanese markets are eyeing a third straight day of losses, with Nikkei futures traded in Chicago 170 points below the last closing level in Osaka.

Australian stocks are also set to suffer, with share price index futures down 103 points to 4,116, a 135.2 point discount to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. – Reuters