DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the rough ride on Wall Street, the Black Monday anniversary, and a few domestic issues spooked Asian investors.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Michelle Han has got a summary of the Asian markets now from our studios in Hong Kong. Hi, Michelle.</s>MICHELLE HAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: David, Deborah, good morning. Wall Street's weakness continues to haunt Asian markets; most bourses finished the day lower. Also spooking investors was today's anniversary, the 13th of Wall Street's Black Monday. On October 19, 1987, stocks worldwide went into a free fall. The Tokyo Nikkei average extended Wednesday's losses and shed 4/10 of a percent, closing at a 19-month low. Leading the losers was dominant telecom Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, which tumbled more than 5 1/2 percent. Despite the stock market woes, the Japanese government remains bullish on the country's growth. The forecast for year 2000-2001 gross domestic product went up to 1.5 percent. A $102 billion dollar economic stimulus package from the government will keep the recovery going by funneling money into information technology, the environment, urban infrastructure, and social welfare. Over here in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng drifted lower by a quarter of a percent. And in Taiwan, how low can the index go? The benchmark TAIEX plummeted nearly 6 1/2 percent to a 4 1/2 year low. Analysts say investors are losing confidence in the government. The stock market has wiped out 44 percent of its value since President Chen Shui-bian took office in May. And that wraps up the trading day here in Asia, back to you both in New York.</s>MARCHINI: Pretty remarkable.</s>HAFFENREFFER: Yes, thank you very much, Michelle.
Asian Markets Haunted by Wall Street's Rough Ride