Asian shares follow global sell-off on China, Ukraine woes

Hong Kong (AFP) - Asian markets extended the week's losses on Friday, following a heavy sell-off in New York and Europe in reaction to another batch of poor Chinese data and flaring tensions in Ukraine.

Traders scurried into lower-risk assets such as the yen owing to growing economic uncertainty and geopolitical fears.

Tokyo slumped 3.30 percent, or 488.32 points, to 14,327.66, Seoul fell 0.75 percent, or 14.48 points, to 1,919.90 and Sydney gave up 1.54 percent, or 83.2 points, to close at 5,329.4.

Shanghai lost 0.73 percent, or 14.77 points, to 2,004.34 while Hong Kong closed 1.00 percent lower, shedding 216.59 points to 21,539.49.

Apart from mild bargain-buying gains on Tuesday and Thursday, regional shares have been in a downward spiral this week since China said at the weekend it had seen a surprise trade deficit in February and exports had slumped.

The selling was fanned on Thursday when Beijing released fresh figures showing industrial production rose at its slowest pace in five years in January and February, while consumer spending saw its weakest increase for three years.

With China -- a crucial driver of global growth -- releasing a series of downbeat economic data, investors are shifting into safer investments, predominantly hitting equities.

The main markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris all suffered heavy losses and Wall Street followed, with the Dow sinking 1.41 percent, the S&P 500 losing 1.17 percent and the Nasdaq 1.46 percent lower.

The US losses came despite unemployment benefits claims tumbling last week to their the lowest level in more than three months, while retail sales saw their first gain in February after two successive declines.

The yen, considered a safe haven, surged against the dollar in New York on Thursday, which in turn hit Japanese shares.

- 'Nikkei suffers double-whammy' -

"Japan stocks take the first hit on bad Asian news, then when the US markets fall late, they react to that as well, resulting in a 'double whammy' effect," a Tokyo-based hedge fund manager told Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar was at 101.75 yen Friday, down from 101.85 yen in New York Thursday afternoon and well down from the mid-103 yen level seen at the start of the week.

Adding to the weak sentiment were fears over the Ukraine crisis ahead of a referendum in Crimea on becoming part of Russia, a vote the West has called illegal.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in London to defuse the crisis but also to warn Moscow of a serious backlash over the vote as the US and EU prepare sanctions against those blamed for stirring the tensions.

In other currency trade the euro slipped after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said that the risk of deflation in the eurozone was "quite limited" but that he stood ready to act decisively in case inflation expectations shifted down.

He added that "the longer inflation remains low, the higher the probability of such risks emerging".

The single currency fetched 141.12 yen against 141.28 yen in US trade and sharply below the 143.30 on Monday.

It also bought $1.3868, compared with $1.3870 in New York. The unit had touched a 29-month high of 1.3967 at one point Thursday.

Oil prices were flat. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for April delivery, was up five cents at $98.25 and Brent North Sea crude for April slipped 25 cents to $107.14.

Gold fetched $1,370.09 an ounce at 1050 GMT compared with $1,369.33 late Wednesday.

In other markets:

-- Taipei fell 0.69 percent, or 60.16 points, to 8,687.63.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slipped 1.29 percent to Tw$115.0 while Hon Hai was 0.7 percent lower at Tw$85.5.

-- Wellington eased 0.64 percent, or 32.66 points, to 5,079.32.

Trade Me was off 1.34 percent at NZ$3.67 and Telecom was steady at NZ$2.45.

-- Manila closed 0.60 percent lower, giving up 38.55 points to 6,391.24.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. fell 1.99 percent to 2,666 pesos and International Container Terminal Services edged up 0.10 percent to 100.10 pesos.

-- Singapore slipped 0.25 percent, or 7.67 points, to 3,073.72.

Singapore Airlines eased 0.78 percent to Sg$10.20 but oil rig maker Keppel Corp. rose 0.10 percent to Sg$10.46.

-- Kuala Lumpur eased 0.76 percent, or 13.74 points, to 1,805.12.

SapuraKencana Petroleum slipped 1.4 percent to 4.19 ringgit, while Gamuda shed 4.9 percent to 4.28 ringgit. Malaysia Airports Holdings gained 1.2 percent to 8.18 ringgit.

-- Bangkok edged up 0.12 percent, or 1.68 points, to 1,372.18.

Retailer Robinson Department Store rose 6.22 percent to 55.50 baht but energy giant PTT fell 1.67 percent to 295.00 baht.

-- Mumbai rose 0.16 percent, or 35.19 points, to 21,809.80.

Crompton Greaves rose 4.63 percent to 148.10 rupees and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation rose 3.92 percent to 126.05 rupees.

-- Jakarta surged 3.23 percent, or 152.48 points, to 4,878.64 after the capital's popular governor Joko Widodo said he would run as a candidate in July's presidential election.

Adding to the upbeat sentiment was the central bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold at 7.5 percent as the economy shows signs of picking up.

Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa jumped 8.11 percent to 24,000 rupiah but tin producer Timah fell 2.27 percent to 1,720 rupiah.