Oil prices extended losses to below $86 a barrel as the dismal jobs data released Friday suggested that a weak US economy will lessen demand for crude. The dollar was higher against the euro and steady against the yen.
European shares sharply declined in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1.6 per cent to 5,206.56. Germany's DAX fell 2.7 per cent to 5,391.24 and France's CAC-40 toppled 2.4 per cent to 3,074.47. Markets in the US are closed for the Labor Day holiday.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average sank 1.9 per cent to close at 8,784.46 with sentiment also undermined by the persistent strength of the yen, which hurts exporters.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.4 per cent to 4,141.9 and South Korea's Kospi slid 4.4 per cent to 1,785.83. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 3 per cent to 19,616.4. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines were also down.
Investors were sticking to the sidelines as expectations mounted that the US Federal Reserve would take action at its September meeting to support the economy _ perhaps a third round of bond purchases, dubbed quantitative easing III or QE3, analysts said.
``Right now the possibility has increased,'' said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. ``I think they have to do something. The markets are expecting QE3.''
Mainland Chinese investors worried about the economic outlook dumped shares, dragging Shanghai's benchmark Composite Index down 2 per cent to 2,478.74, its lowest close in 13 months. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.4 per cent to 1,097.07.
Shares in cement, coal miners, furniture makers and engineering companies led the decline.
``Slower growth prospects and the weakness in international markets were behind today's losses,'' said Cai Dagui, an analyst at Ping'an Securities, based in Shenzhen.
``Since the market is being driven more by the economy itself and policies, rather than the liquidity situation, it could still edge lower, though the room for losses is limited,'' he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 2.2 per cent lower Friday, wiping out its gain for the week, on the heels of the Labor Department reported that no jobs were added in the US in August. It was the worst employment report in 11 months and renewed fears that another recession could be on the way.
The lack of hiring in the US last month surprised investors. Economists were expecting 93,000 jobs to be added. Previously reported hiring figures for June and July were revised lower. The average work week declined and hourly earnings fell. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 per cent. The rate has been above 9 per cent in all but two months since May 2009.
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