- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
Asian stocks drop despite Credit Suisse buyout, central banks' pledge
Asian equities sank Monday following a sell-off in New York as investors fret over the financial sector, despite central banks' pledges to provide liquidity to troubled lenders and news that UBS had taken over embattled Credit Suisse.
The losses came ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting this week, with speculation mounting that it will pause its interest rate hikes in order to provide some stability to markets.
The collapse earlier this month of regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate has sparked fears of contagion across the industry as worried customers withdraw their cash.
The crisis led US authorities last week to promise support for other lenders and depositors, in a move aimed at preventing a run on banks.
Also, Wall Street titans including JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup pledged to inject $30 billion into under-pressure lender First Republic Bank.
However, fears of another financial crisis flared again when the biggest shareholder in Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, said it would "absolutely not" up its stake a day after its annual report cited "material weaknesses" in internal controls at the firm.
The lender later announced it would borrow nearly $54 billion from the nation's central bank to provide "support".
But that was not enough to lift confidence and on Sunday it was announced that UBS -- Switzerland's biggest bank -- would buy the firm for $3.25 billion following crunch talks in hopes of stopping a wider international banking crisis.
The deal was vital to prevent economic turmoil from spreading throughout the country and beyond, the government said.
The move was welcomed in Washington, Frankfurt and London.
Meanwhile, the Fed and the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan, the European Union and Switzerland said they would launch a coordinated effort on Monday to improve banks' access to liquidity, hoping to calm worries.
The developments appeared to go down well in New York and Europe, where stock futures were in positive territory.
- Awaiting Fed decision -
But Asian traders tracked Friday's losses.
Hong Kong fell more than two percent, with heavyweight HSBC off four percent. That came even as the city's monetary authority said its banking sector had "insignificant" exposure to Credit Suisse.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta were also in the red.
Still, Shanghai was higher after the Chinese central bank cut the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve, hoping to boost the country's economy.
Traders are now nervously awaiting the Fed's next policy meeting, which ends Wednesday.
They were already in a downbeat mood before the latest crisis erupted as they contemplated more rate hikes to rein in stubbornly high inflation.
There is a debate about whether it will continue lifting as the collapse of SVB has been widely linked to the sharp rise in borrowing costs over the past year.
Some observers expect at least one more increase but possibly a hold afterwards, while there is a growing belief that cuts could be announced before the end of the year.
But Gerard MacDonell of 22V Research said: "It is not at all clear that avoiding a rate hike would even help address the financial troubles in the banking system.
"For the Fed to hold off on Wednesday might send a signal of panic. It might also lead to a further intensification of inflation pressures and more bond market volatility down the road."
Data showing that bank borrowing from the Fed's discount window hit a record high of more than $150 billion for the week ending March 15 indicated stress in the sector, analysts said.
Oil prices nudged slightly higher but made very little headway in clawing back big losses suffered last week on worries about demand as traders fret over a possible recession.
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 27,106.34 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 19,113.83
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,261.36
Dollar/yen: UP at 132.27 yen from 131.80 yen
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0678 from $1.0671 on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2181 from $1.2174
Euro/pound: UP at 87.66 pence from 87.59 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $66.97 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.5 percent at $73.31 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 31,861.98 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,335.40 (close)
P.Kolisnyk--CPN