Markets in Asia fell sharply

The Nikkei was off 2.2% to 16,438. NEC (NIPNY) was off 3.4% to 540. Yahoo Japan was up 2.5% to 57600.

The Hang Seng fell 3.5% to 28,431. China Netcom (CN) fell 6.4% to 24.3. China Petroleum (SNP) fell 5.9% to 11.54.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.4% to 5,681.

Data from Reuters

Douglas A. McIntyre