European and Asian shares slump

There are concerns a US recession would hit the rest of the world

European shares have followed the lead from Asia and fallen in early trading this morning, with investors troubled by signs that the US housing market is deteriorating further.London’s FTSE 100 fell 1%, the Dax in Frankfurt’s was down 1.1% and the Cac 40 in Paris fell 1.1% by late morning.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 3.6% while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 3.3% lower.

The falls followed Thursday’s US figures, which showed a record number of home repossessions.

India’s Sensex index shed 5% before closing 3.8% lower while Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 1.47%.

Repossessions

The number of US home repossessions, and the speed at which they were being repossessed, hit record levels in the fourth quarter of 2007, figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Thursday.

Separate data from the Federal Reserve showed that the amount of equity Americans have in their homes has dropped below 50% for the first time since 1945.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had closed 1.75% lower on Thursday, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 2.20% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.3%.

“There are still serious concerns about credit markets, particularly about where the US economy is heading,” said Tony Russell, senior equities adviser at ABN AMRO Morgans in Australia.

“We’re probably close to re-testing our lows seen earlier this year.”

Asia relies heavily on the US for exports, adding to concerns that a slowdown would hit blue-chip firms in places including Japan. The weakening dollar compounds the problem by making local goods relatively more expensive than US items.

“If the dollar weakens further on worries over a slowdown in the US economy, investors may be buying defensive shares like food and drug shares, since exporters are not an option,” said Kyoya Okazawa, who heads equity research at Credit Suisse.