(Corrects to show oil at lowest since Jan. 30, 2007 in 22nd
paragraph)
* Asian shares fall for 3rd day to lowest since Oct. 30
* Japan's Nikkei down 5.3 pct; Australia hits 4-yr low
* Oil hits 22-month low of $55 a barrel; OPEC ponders cut
* China's stocks up on fiscal spending, monetary easing
talk
(Adds European outlook, updates prices)
By Rafael Nam
HONG KONG, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Thursday
to their lowest this month on uncertainty about the U.S.
Treasury's banking rescue plan and signs the global financial
crisis biting deeper in Asia.
Japan's Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> said it plans to
raise fresh capital, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia
<CBA.AX> warned it expected a big jump in bad loans.
[]
The announcements came on a bleak day that also included
data showing China's industrial output slumped to a seven-year
low, and follows a revenue warning from Intel Corp <INTC.O> and
a dismal forecast from U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy
<BBY.N>.
European shares were set to tumble as well, with Britain's
FTSE 100 <> seen down as much as 2.2 percent.
Deepening gloom about the global economy led crude prices
to hit a 22-month low of $55 a barrel. Metals such as platinum
also dropped.
The Japanese yen retreated against the euro and the dollar
after soaring on Wednesday on a flight-to-quality. Other Asian
currencies fell, while Australia's central bank stepped in to
support its tumbling Australian dollar. []
"There isn't a lot of light right now," said Hiroaki
Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management in Japan.
"With so many grim forecasts and the situation in
developing nations growing worse, things are tough."
BAILOUT UNCERTAINTY
The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> dropped 5.4 percent as of 0620 GMT after at one
point hitting its lowest level since Oct. 30.
Asian shares followed Wall Street lower after the U.S.
Treasury on Wednesday backed away from using a $700 billion
bailout fund to buy bad mortgage debt from lenders to focus
instead on buying stakes in the U.S. banks themselves.
[] and []
The shift in focus not only created uncertainty, but came
after a raft of recent gloomy economic data worldwide.
Data showed China's industrial output slumped to a
seven-year low last month as manufacturers throttled back
production in response to weakness in the domestic property
market and an unfolding slowdown in export demand.
[]
Intel Corp <INTC.O> also cut its fourth-quarter revenue
forecast, citing weak demand across the world for all its
products, while Best Buy slashed its profit forecast.
[] and []
Japan's Nikkei average <> dropped 5.3 percent. Other
markets also took a beating: South Korea <>, Hong Kong
<>, India <> and Singapore <.FTSTI> fell 3-6 percent
each and Australia <> sank 5.9 percent to a four-year low.
But Shanghai <> surged 4.3 percent on hopes for a
major boost to the economy from fiscal spending and monetary
easing.
AUSSIE, RUPIAH SLUMP
The yen retreated from a two-week high against the euro as
short-term players locked in profits, though it still retained
its overall strength as investors remain wary of riskier
assets.
The euro rebounded to 119.20 yen <EURJPY=R> on trading
platform EBS, up 0.3 percent from late U.S. trade, after
briefly falling as low as 117.65 yen, the lowest since Oct. 28.
The dollar recovered from the day's low of 94.53 yen to
95.54 yen <JPY=>, up 0.5 percent on the day.
Other currencies fared worse. The battered Australian
dollar remained on the defensive at $0.6391 <AUD=>, after the
central bank said it had intervened to support it.
The Indonesian rupiah <IDR=> fell almost 4 percent to hit
11,950 per dollar, its weakest since April 2001, following new
government restrictions on foreign exchange purchases.
[]
OIL SLUMPS
Commodity prices crumbled further on concern sputtering
economic growth would curb demand for everything from oil to
grain and on widespread risk aversion.
U.S. crude futures fell for a third consecutive day, down
$1.03 to $55.13, after earlier falling to $55.03 -- the lowest
since Jan. 30, 2007.
"Oil prices continue to be pressured by fears that weaker
international economic growth will depress oil consumption,"
said David Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of
Australia.
Platinum <XPT=> fell as low as a bid of $789.50 but
rebounded to $794.00 later in the day, still well below the New
York notional close of $810.
But regional government bonds gained from the volatility
elsewhere, with Japan's December 10-year JGB futures <2JGBv1>
up 0.42 point to 138.51, after climbing as high as 138.79.
In U.S. Treasuries, the spread between the two-year and the
10-year yields was at around 257 basis points, approaching the
2003 peak of 266 basis points amid the possibility of Japanese
and Chinese reserves of Treasuries will be sold to raise cash.
The two-year note was unchanged in price from late New York
trade to yield 1.163 percent <US2YT=RR>after hitting 1.145
percent, a five-year low.
The benchmark 10-year note dipped 2/32 in price to yield
3.740 percent from around 3.66 percent <US10YT=RR>.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in TOKYO and Fayen Wong
in PERTH; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
