Asian Stocks Slump on Japan Earthquake Concern; Nikkei Tumbles
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Asian stocks fell, sending a regional benchmark stock index toward its steepest drop since June, as Japan worked to contain a nuclear accident following the nation’s biggest earthquake.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 1 publicly traded bank, slid 7.2 percent in Tokyo after police said the death toll from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami may top 10,000. Canon Inc. sank 5.9 percent. Australian uranium producers tumbled in Sydney as Japan worked to prevent a meltdown at damaged nuclear reactors. Caltex Australia Ltd., the nation’s biggest oil refiner, rose 2.6 percent on expectations of increased Japanese demand for refined fuel.