Asian markets lower on Japan nuclear worries

MUMBAI: Most Asian stock markets slid Tuesday on fresh worries about Japan's
nuclear crisis and a darkening outlook for global growth .

Oil prices
slumped to near $108 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, extending losses from the
previous session ahead of key reports on the impact of rising fuel costs on
global crude demand.Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.6 percent to 9,563.9 in
morning trade. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was 1.4 percent lower,
while South Korea's Kospi was off 1.3 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200
was down 1.4 percent. Benchmarks in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and New Zealand
were also lower.

Japan's nuclear safety agency on Tuesday raised the
severity of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant incident to level 7, the
highest on the scale and the same rating as the Chernobyl incident in 1986,
dampening confidence. After another quake rattled Japan's northeast on Monday,
safety officials urged more people near the crippled plant to evacuate and said
repeated aftershocks were hampering recovery work at the nuclear site.

ALEEM
PGDM - 2 sem