Nikkei closes sharply lower

Tokyo -- Japan's 225-stock Nikkei index plunged Monday as investors remained unmoved by the passage of the U.S. $700 billion financial bailout.

The Nikkei, which dragged other Asian and Pacific markets with it, gave up more than 465 points, or 4.25 percent, to close at 10,473.09, its lowest closing since February 2004, Kyodo news service reported.

Hong Kong's Hang Send index plunged nearly 879 points, or 4.97 percent, to 16,804.

The Nikkei has been taking a beating since last week and the weekend approval of the bailout package didn't change investor mood.

"Concerns about a global economic slowdown are becoming stronger and this point shoved off (any optimism coming from) the passage of the financial bailout bill," Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at Cosmo Securities Co., told Kyodo.

"The Tokyo market now is faced with a situation that a further plunge in stocks is unlikely to stop (for now) as there are many investors who have a pessimistic outlook."

CNN reported the Korea Exchange in Seoul ended the day down 4.3 percent, while the Australian Securities Exchange was off about 3.4 percent. The trend was the same in Singapore, Shanghai and Taiwan.

In India, the 30-stock Sensex in Mumbai nosedived about 5.42 percent, closing well less than the 12,000 mark at about 11,848.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.