HONG KONG – Asian stocks fell Monday as weak company earnings led investors to ratchet down hopes for a global recovery, but India's index vaulted 17 percent after election results paved the way for economic reforms.
Tokyo shares were hardest hit after two of Japan's leading companies — Panasonic and Mizuho Financial — reported colossal losses for the last fiscal year. The strengthening yen hurt the country's major exporters. Oil firms, meanwhile, sank along with crude prices.
But India provided a bright spot, its shares surging in early trade as results of national elections boosted confidence about the government's stability and ability to enact long-awaited reforms.
Losses across most of Asia followed Wall Street and came after global markets ended last week mostly higher. One catalyst was the still-dreary outlook for the world's largest economy highlighted by ugly U.S. retail and housing figures. Plummeting Chinese exports and foreign investment didn't help matters.
Investors have jumped into stocks since early March as the rate of deterioration in the world economy eased somewhat.
Analysts say a correction is healthy after such a steep climb. At the same time, expectations are rising for evidence of growth in economies and corporate earnings, not just slower declines.
"We need to see more signs of demand actually picking up and the economy improving. Without that, we're going to trade in a range or see more selling," said Yoji Takeda, who helps manage $1 billion in assets at RBC Investment Management in Hong Kong.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index lost 226.33 points, or 2.4 percent, to 9,038.69 in a broad-market decline spurred by a stronger yen, which hurts exports, and sagging corporate results.
Electronics giant Panasonic plummeted 7.6 percent after announcing Friday a 378.96 billion yen ($4 billion) loss for the fiscal year and projecting a steeper-than-feared net loss for the coming year.
Among banks, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-largest lender, shed 3.8 percent after posting a group net loss of 588.8 billion yen ($6.2 billion).
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 138.69, or 0.8 percent, to 16,656.31, while South Korea's benchmark shed 0.4 percent to 1,386.68. Shanghai's index dropped 0.1 percent and Australia's stock measure was off 1 percent.
In India, the benchmark Sensex soared 17.2 percent, forcing trading to be halted for the day, amid euphoria over the Congress Party's definitive victory in national elections.
Friday in New York, stocks extended the week's losses as investors found little incentive to buy despite economic news that wasn't as weak as expected.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62.68, or 0.8 percent, to 8,268.64. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.19, or 1.1 percent, to 882.88.
U.S. futures pointed to more losses on Wall Street Monday. Dow futures fell 45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8,222 and S&P futures dropped 3.3, or 0.4 percent, to 879.70.
Oil prices hovered near $57 a barrel in Asia as traders backed off last week's push to above $60 amid signs of weak crude demand. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 37 cents to $56.71. The contract dropped $2.28 on Friday.
In currencies, the dollar weakened against the yen, a reflection of the lower appetite for risk among investors who've treated the Japanese currency as a safe haven in recent months. The greenback fell to 94.91 yen from 95.26 yen.
The euro slid to $1.3454 from $1.3493.