Asian Stocks Fall As Euro Zone Concerns Deepen

Most Asian markets fell Wednesday as investors continued to worry that the debt crisis faced by the euro zone would weigh down the global economic condition.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1 percent or 85.17 points to 8402.92. Among major losers were Toshiba Corp (7.28 percent), Panasonic Corp (4.90 percent) and Sony Corp (4.03 percent).

The Chinese Shanghai Composite rose 0.16 percent or 3.44 points to 2150.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.33 percent or 62.96 points to 18840.24. Among major losers were Citic Pacific Ltd (2.93 percent) and Sands China Ltd (2.84 percent).

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index declined 0.81 percent or 14.56 points to 1779.37. Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd fell 0.85 percent and shares of Hyundai Motor Co dropped 0.22 percent.

India's BSE Sensex fell 0.41 percent or 69.76 points to 16848.32. Major losers were Sesa Goa (1.75 percent), HDIL (1.44 percent) and Bank of Baroda (1.22 percent).

Investors continued to worry about the uncertainties in the euro zone economy. The inability to seal the deal on the main elements of the recent EU summit such as action to bring down their borrowing costs and promote growth in the euro zone had become a major worrying aspect for the market players.

Market sentiment continued to be weighed down by the increasing debt pressure on Spain. Last week, the 10-year government bond yields in Spain soared to record highs of about 7.56 percent. The gross domestic product projection by the Spanish government last week showed that Spain's economy would not register growth before 2014, adding to concerns about the amount of sovereign funding needed.

Market participants worried that the contagion would spread to Italy. Investors sensed that government bond yields in Italy could continue to rise in lockstep with their Spanish counterparts.

Another factor that dragged down the market sentiment was the disappointing earnings from Apple Inc. The company reported that the net profit for the third quarter of $8.82 billion or $9.32 per share, up from $7.31 billion or $7.79 per share for the same period earlier year. Analysts expected earnings of $10.36 per share for the quarter.