* Most Asian stock markets extend last week's losing streak
* Oil range-bound after Friday's slump; yen near 13-mth
high
* Japanese lenders slump on capital-raising concerns
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Monday,
with Japan's Nikkei briefly hitting its lowest intraday level
since 1982, as investors feared fresh moves expected from
central banks this week will not be enough to stave off a deep
global recession.
Trading was chaotic as South Korea slashed interest rates
in an emergency meeting and Australia's central bank said it
had intervened on Friday to support its tumbling currency.
The actions come in response to last week's steep sell-off
in global markets, especially in emerging economies, that set
all kinds of, largely unwelcome, milestones. Yet signs of
caution were evident throughout on Monday, as gold surged and
regional bonds climbed on a bid to safety.
Japan's Nikkei average <> saw wild swings as a
stronger yen and tumbling bank shares weighed on the market
amid continuing worry about the global economy.
The benchmark Nikkei index <> fell to its lowest level
in 26 years in early trade before rebounding by late morning to
a gain of about 0.5 percent.
Japanese lenders such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
<8306.T> tumbled on concerns they will need to raise billions
of dollars to offset hefty losses on their stock portfolios as
a global equity market rout continues. MUFJ fell 11 percent.
The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> also swung between gains and losses after
hitting its lowest since August 2004 in early trade. The index
was down 1.5 percent as of 0200 GMT.
South Korean shares <> fell 1 percent despite an
emergency rate cut by the central bank, highlighting investor
scepticism that moves by policymakers to shore up economies
will be enough to stave off recession and a sharp drop in
corporate earnings.
South Korea's central bank lowered its main interest rate
by 75 basis points to 4.25 percent in the biggest single-day
cut since it started adopting a benchmark interest rate in
1999. []
Taiwan <> fell 5 percent, Australia <> 1.3
percent and Shanghai 2.3 percent. Hong Kong <> clawed back
early losses to edge slightly higher while Singapore was closed
for a holiday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest
rates by another 50 basis points on Wednesday in response to
turmoil in financial markets and the threat of a sharp economic
downturn. []
The U.S. government will release its advance report on
third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday. The GDP data
could be the first negative print since the revised reading for
the fourth quarter of 2007. That and a raft of other economic
data this week could indicate how deep a recession the world's
largest economy may face.
SAFETY
Finding safe havens has been a priority for investors in
what has been a very volatile past month that has seen
governments pledge about $4 trillion to support banks and thaw
frozen credit markets in a bid to stem a financial crisis that
threatens the global economy.
Emerging markets have been hit especially hard, and several
more are expected to turn the International Monetary Fund after
Ukraine on Sunday agreed on a $16.5 billion loan package to
ease the effects of the financial crisis. []
The yen remained near a 13-year peak against the dollar,
continuing to outperform other major currencies, while the
Australian dollar shed 0.8 percent to $0.6180 <AUD=D4> despite
the intervention by the central bank.
The euro was down 0.4 percent at 118.57 yen <EURJPY=R>,
near a six-year low of 113.79 yen hit on Friday. Against the
dollar, the euro edged up 0.2 percent to $1.2646 <EUR=>, helped
by its gains against the yen.
Gold, another asset class viewed as a haven in volatile
times, surged to $743.50 an ounce compared to $731.50 in late
New York trading on Friday.
Meanwhile, oil <CLc1> was little changed at around $64 a
barrel on Monday, stopping a slide that saw crude tumble $4 to
a 16-month low despite an emergency production from OPEC.
