Asian Stock Markets Tumble On US, Europe Worries

Asian stock markets tumbled Friday, following an overnight slump in Wall Street as weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data and the deepening euro zone crisis dampened sentiment.

U.S. stocks plunged to a four-month low Thursday with the S&P 500 ending lower for the fifth consecutive day as investors got hammered by a new dose of negative economic news, including a downbeat Philadelphia Fed report and growing worries over the euro zone crisis.

All the major Asian indices were trading in red, with the Japanese Nikkei plunging to 2.99 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.3 percent and China's Shanghai index fell by 1.4 percent.

In India, the Sensex ended 82 points higher in a rally led by the purchase of State Bank of India stock and a sharp recovery in rupee from record lows.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said that factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly slumped to negative 5.8 percent in May from 8.5 percent in April, suggesting regional contraction in manufacturing activity while the Labour Department said jobless applications remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, worries over the stability of the Spanish banking system intensified after Moody's downgraded the debt ratings of 16 Spanish banks overnight, including Santander, Europe's biggest bank.

The Spanish public appears to be losing confidence in banks, with a report showing that 1 billion euros were withdrawn from Bankia since being nationalized on May 9, a note from Credit Agricole said.

Among the stocks, Toyota Motor Corp. plunged 3.97 percent, Honda Motors plunged 3.72 percent and Sony Corp. slumped 5.3 percent in Tokyo.