Asian stocks tumbled Thursday after ailing US investment bank Lehman Brothers hit investor sentiment by posting more hefty losses due to the global financial crisis and credit crunch.
The bourses in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore all slumped more than three percent. Japan, Asia's biggest bourse, and Australia each shed almost two percent.
Taiwan fell even though the government announced an economic stimulus package of 5.6 billion US dollars. South Korea slid around 1.5 percent as its central bank kept interest rates steady.
Lehman announced plans Wednesday to sell off key assets to shore up its finances as it posted big losses linked to the US subprime real estate crisis.
The beleaguered Wall Street firm, seen as in desperate need for a capital injection, lost an estimated 3.9 billion dollars in its fiscal third quarter amid fresh writedowns on mortgage assets.
The bank's results put the focus back on the meltdown in the subprime, or higher risk, mortgage sector, which sparked a global credit squeeze that has hit world economic growth.
Among smaller Asian markets Thursday, India and Malaysia tumbled around two percent, while Thailand and the Philippines fell 1.3 percent.