Asian stocks down on credit fears

Shares in Asian exporters have been hit by the weaker US currency

Asian stocks have slumped, as resurgent credit fears have pushed the value of the US dollar down further, harming export-oriented firms.

Tokyo's Nikkei ended 2.48% down at 15,197.09 and the broader Topix slid 2.54% to 1,456.40 - both 15-year lows. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 4.5%.

Also lower was Singapore's Straits Times Index, which fell 2.8%,

Analysts said the trend was in response to Friday's falls in the US, as fears regarding the credit crisis continue.

'Scary'

"I'm afraid factors from overseas, such as sub-prime problems, are coming over to Japan," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. "We'll closely monitor the situation," he added.

What started as problem in the US housing market, with default rates on mortgages rising in the wake of a series of interest rates rises, later spread to other markets.

As banks begin to reveal their exposure to the sub-prime sector - which specialises in lending to riskier borrowers - there are increasing fears that greater financial losses lie ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8% on Friday after Wachovia bank said its writedowns on bad mortgage debt would total $1.1bn (£525m) for October alone.

One trader in Japan said: "Its getting to the point where everything seems scary and that its hard to trust what financial institutions are saying."

Other fallers in Asia included China's Shanghai Composite Index, down 2.9%. At the weekend, China's central bank made a move to cool inflation by raising the level of deposits that commercial banks must set aside.