Asian stocks fell, with every major benchmark gauge in the region retreating, as economic data in the U.S. and China stoked concern about global growth. Japan’s Topix Index closed at the lowest level since 1983.
Nikkei 225 8,295.63 -144.62 -1.71%
S&P/ASX 200 3,985 -78.88 -1.94%
Shanghai Composite 2,308.55 -64.89 -2.73%
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index joined the Topix in falling more than 20 percent from this year’s high, a drop that would see the measure close in a so-called bear market.
Sony Corp., a Japanese exporter of consumer electronics that gets about a fifth of its sales in the U.S., fell to levels not seen since 1980, when the Walkman was introduced in the U.S.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, and Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, lost at least 2 percent as a gauge of commodities fell to an eight-month low.