STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Shares to fall on recession gloom

Published: 17 Feb 2009 18:10:18 PST

WELLINGTON, Feb 18 - Asian shares are set to slide on Wednesday, as U.S. stocks fell on deepening recession fears and renewed concerns over the future of European banks.

The Dow Jones <.DJI> and Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> both fell to three-month lows, as investors felt the economic outlook was set to deteriorate, despite President Barack Obama signing into law a $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Financial stocks tumbled after two leading ratings agencies warned problems in banks in emerging European markets could flow through to the broader banking sector. See [nLH423224].

Japanese shares are set for a slide, with Nikkei futures traded in Chicago <2NKc1> last trading at 7,455 points, 155 points lower than the last traded level in Osaka <JNIc1>.

Japan's finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa resigned on Tuesday after being forced to deny he was drunk at a G7 news conference, in a further blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso's deeply unpopular government [nT79787].

Recession fears and the banking warning saw the dollar gain while the yen and the euro fell.

Crude oil prices <CLc1> fell below $35 a barrel while fears of weak demand saw most commodity prices slide. HEADLINES: > Obama signs stimulus; stocks dive; auto plans due [nLH575804] > GM, Chrysler ready survival plans [nLH623622] > U.S. charges Allen Stanford with 'massive' fraud [nN17381625] > U.S. stocks sink to November lows

[nN17376319] > Obama signs stimulus into law

[nN17348348] > U.S. housing, factories grim in February [nN17499156] > Wal-Mart profit beats Wall St view, shares up [nN17535726] > German investor morale boosts recovery hopes [nLH206447] > China lends Russia $25 bln to get 20 years of oil [nLH444229] > China fund eyes bid for $8 bln AIG unit-sources [nHKG118233] > Russia economic outlook darkens,GDP f'cast slashed [nLH577814]

KEY INDEXES pct change

Bank of New York Asia ADR index <.BKAS> -6.19

Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> -3.79

Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> -4.15

MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan <.MSCIAPJ> -3.82

Nikkei futures in Chicago <2NKc1> -3.50

Nikkei futures in Osaka <JNIc1> -0.39

ASIAN ADR ACTION:

5 most actively traded: pct change

TSMC <TSM.N><2330.TW> -6.88

Infosys Tech <INFY.O><INFY.BO> -4.89

Siliconware <SPIL.O><2325.TW> -9.94

Mitsubishi UFJ <MTU.N><8306.T> -8.10

Lihir Gold <LIHR.O><LGL.AX> 6.05

Top 5 performers: pct change

Lihir Gold <LIHR.O><LGL.AX> 6.05

SMIC <SMI.N><0981.HK> 3.66

Tata Motors <TTM.N><TAMO.BO> 1.80

NTT Docomo <DCM.N><9437.T> 1.12

Prana Biotech <PRAN.O><PBT.AX> 1.01

Bottom 5 performers: pct change

Chartered Semi <CHRT.O><CSMF.SI> -16.32

Kookmin Bank <KB.N><060000.KS> -16.25

Woori Fin Gp <WF.N><053000.KS> -15.09

ICICI Bank <IBN.N><ICBK.BO> -13.63

Kubota Corp. <KUB.N><6326.T> -13.35

TOP ASIA EVENTS:

For more Asian company earnings, see [ASIA/EQTY]

JAPAN - Bank of Japan begins two day policy meeting

HONG KONG - Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Ltd <2689.HK>

H1 results

AUSTRALIA - Q4 retail trade quarterly indicators

- Woodside Petroleum Ltd <WPL.AX> year result

TAIWAN - Q4 GDP