Asian Shares Fall

Tokyo– Shares dropped sharply in Asia on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Shares fell in all regional markets except Indonesia’s. Oil prices were higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,100 points, or 3.6%, and the S&P 500 had its biggest drop in nearly two years Wednesday, shedding 4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.7%.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 1.9% to 26,395.81 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 2.5% to 20,119.96. In South Korea, the Kospi shed 1.3% to 2,592.32, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave up 1.7% to 7,062.90.

The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3.083.20.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 165.17 points to 3,923.68, while the Dow slid 1,164.52 points to 31,490.07. The Nasdaq slid 566.37 points to 11,418.15.

In other trading, benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 42 cents to $110.01 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped $2.81 to $109.59 on Wednesday.

Brent crude, the basis for pricing for international trading, climbed $1.14 to $110.25 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 128.63 Japanese yen from 128.20 yen late Wednesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0490 from $1.0464.

Source: Saudi Press Agency