Stocks in Asia dropped sharply to begin......>

STOCKS: Stocks in Asia dropped sharply to begin the week on Monday, taking a

negative lead from US stocks which plunged on Friday posting the biggest one day

loss since September 2016.

- In Japan the Nikkei 225 is down 552 points at 22,721. The broad risk off tone

saw yen gain on Monday, USD/JPY last down 22 pips at 109.94 after touching

session lows at 109.79. The Nikkei 225 gapped lower at the open and dropped

throughout the session, all 11 sectors are in the red led lower by Energy and

Materials. 

- In China, the Shanghai Comp is down 6 points while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng

is down 592 points at 32,009. This is the biggest one day decline for Hong Kong

stocks since November 2016, though the index was earlier down 880 points.

Analysts note that after the stellar run in 2018 for Hong Kong stocks so far the

index could be ready for a correction.

- In Australia the ASX 200 is down 94 points at 6,027. The index is being hit by

lower oil and metals prices, while a weak Aussie dollar is also hurting

sentiment, despite a bounce after stronger China Caixin Services PMI data.