TOKYO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Asian financial markets, once again echoing the rout on Wall Street this week, sold off after opening Thursday as investors took refuge on the sidelines.
On the heels of Wednesday's near 450-point plunge on the New York Stock Exchange, which was a near repeat of Monday's performance, major Asian markets reacted similarly in early trading Thursday, worried over developments such as the U.S. government bailout of American International Group insurance company.
Japan's 225-stock Nikkei index was down more than 361 points, or 3.08 percent, after opening, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed more than 885 points, or 4.84 percent.
Australian and South Korean markets also were down sharply, CNN reported. The story was repeated in other smaller Asian markets.
The world-wide uncertainty was set off with the bankruptcy of the U.S. investment banking firm Lehman Brothers Holdings, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, and the latest U.S. government's $85 billion bail out of the AIG insurance giant.
"The question everyone is asking is 'what's going to fix this?'"one analyst told CNN.
The Bank of Japan, one of the central banks of major economies seeking to calm the markets, injected about $14.5 billion Thursday into its financial system, its third such capital infusion in as many days.
