Asia Stocks Fall Early,Then Recover, U.S. Futures Point up

This article will show what happened with the Asian stocks fell Thursday, with South Korea's market sinking more than 7 percent, as a barrage of downbeat company forecasts deepened fears of a global recession.

But in a positive sign, regional markets pared losses in afternoon trading as investors bought beaten down shares.

Major European markets opened mixed, then slid downward.

"Sentiment is lousy," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at CFC Seymour in Hong Kong. "Earnings are disappointing, and we're still in the process of lowering profits all across the globe."

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 7 percent at the open but recovered some to closed down 2.5 percent at 8,460.98. Traders said the turnaround in Tokyo was partly due a Wall Street Journal report that the Bush administration is considering a $40 billion plan to help limit home foreclosures.

South Korea's market was hit hardest. The benchmark Kospi fell nearly 10 percent at one point and closed down 7.5 percent at 1,049.71. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 3.6 percent to 13,760.49 after falling more than 6 percent earlier.

Asia's downward lurch followed Wall Street as hundreds of companies reported third-quarter results and issued murky forecasts this week, signs that the economic slowdown was taking a toll on balance sheets despite recent improvements in the world credit markets.

Tokyo investors were cautious ahead of the release of corporate earnings next week, including Canon Inc. on Monday and Honda on Tuesday.

Japanese electronics powerhouse NEC Corp. plunged 8.5 percent after slashing its full-year earnings estimates Wednesday, blaming weaker demand for mobile phones and computer chips.

"The new numbers are below even our forecasts, which were at the bottom end of market estimates," said Takeo Miyamoto, an analyst at Deutsche Securities in Tokyo, in a report Thursday. "We predict strong disappointment in the market."

Australia's key index pulled back more than 4 percent as slumping world commodity prices sent resource companies lower. Rio Tinto fell more than 14 percent while rival BHP Billiton sank more than 9 percent.