In Hong Kong, hurricane force winds and torrential rain from Typhoon York shut down financial markets along with banks, schools and most government offices. Thursday's declines followed a 1 per cent fall overnight on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 108.91 points to 10,801.42 points. The US market saw heavy profit taking, with traders fearing Fed might raise a key interest rate by another 0.25 percentage pointwhen its policy-making board meets on October 5. The Fed has raised interest rates one-quarter percentage points at each of it last two meetings.

Tokyo: Share prices in Tokyo tumbled 2.7 per cent as investors took cover from the surging yen, with selling pressure spreading from export issues to the broader market, brokers said. ``The market was lower across the board all because of the stronger yen,'' said Kazue Mayuzumi, a senior market analyst at Nikko Securities Co Ltd. ``Domestic and foreign investors stepped up selling.'' Nikkei lost 485.63 points from Tuesday's finish to end at 17,291.59, for its biggest daily point-fall for two months. There was no trading on Wednesday for a public holiday. The Topix index of all issues on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was also down 29.01 points at 1,495.78. Investors mounted selling from the outset of trading, discouraged by sharp falls in New York share prices and the yen's surge to a three and a half year high against the dollar, brokerssaid.

Singapore: Singapore share prices closed 1.4 per cent lower in line with weak regional markets, dealers said. The benchmark Straits Times Index fell 30.74 points to close at 2,089.84, while the broader All-Singapore Index closed 8.46 points lower at 568.05. A dealer with a local bank said the market has been falling since Monday due to the absence of fresh leads, with the decline aggravated by falls in Tokyo and on Wall Street.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian share prices ended 0.9 per cent lower in line with continued weaknesses in regional markets, dealers said. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange composite index fell 6.49 points to finish at 711.25, off an earlier low of 702.64. An institutional dealer with a local brokerage said local buying support in the afternoon session pared losses due to light but steady foreign selling. But sentiment remained cautious as the yen continued to rise against the dollar, he said, adding that foreign-exchange sensitive stocks took the brunt of the sellingalong with key bluechips.