DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a check of the Asian markets' performance overnight.</s>DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Dalton Tanonaka has details now from Hong Kong. Hi, Dalton.</s>DALTON TANONAKA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deborah. Hi, David. You know, it's more of the same out here as the tumbling Nasdaq took Asia down with it again. Tech troubles pulling Tokyo's Nikkei down more than 1 percent to a 28-month low. One big loser there, fiber optic maker Furukawa Electric. It sank more than 4 percent after shareholder JDS Uniphase of the U.S. tumbled to a 16-month low on Wall Street. The latest economic report in Japan didn't help sentiment either. Japan had a trade deficit of $824 million last month, the first such deficit in four years. The export shortfall is being blamed on slowing growth in the United States and Asia. Japan's trade surplus with its biggest trading partner, the U.S., fell 3.9 percent. Economists see more weakness ahead. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped more than 1 percent after investors hung up on China Telecom. China's leading phone company and No. 2 China Unicom announced lower rates, which analysts say will hurt revenue. Troubled blue chip telecoms took the wind out of Seoul's KOSPI. It slumped 2 1/3 percent. The International Monetary Fund is lowering its growth forecast for South Korea, citing weakness in exports and the global economy. The IMF is targeting the country's growth to come in between 3 1/2 to 3 1/4 percent. And that is the Asian trading and business day. David and Deborah, back to you in New York.</s>MARCHINI: All right, thank you.
Techs Tumble in Asia; Japan Records $824M Trade Deficit