Asian shares mostly extend losses on China property worries

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday, with Tokyo down 2.2% as worries about heavily indebted Chinese real estate developers weighed on sentiment.

On Monday, U.S. stocks logged their biggest drop since May, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite sinking 2.2%.

Markets were closed Tuesday in Taiwan, Shanghai and South Korea.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged 0.1% lower to 24,067.15 as selling of property developers slowed.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 660.34 points to finish at 29,839.71. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 7,273.80.

Analysts said fears the damage from a property bust in China could ripple worldwide were drawing on memories of past financial crises such as the bursting of the Japanese “bubble” economy or the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis.

In Japan, that catastrophe is called the Lehman crisis for the 2008 collapse of the Lehman Brothers which aggravated the situation.

“The whisper is that this could be China’s ‘Lehman moment.’ Even with Chinese markets closed until Wednesday, we are seeing knock-on sell-offs around the world,” said RaboResearch.

The S&P 500 tumbled 1.7% on Monday to 4,357.73, its biggest drop since May. The S&P 500 was coming off two weeks of losses and is on track for its first monthly decline since January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8% to 33,970.47. The Nasdaq shed 2.2%, to 14,713.90. The Russell 2000 dropped 2.4% to 2,182.20.

Technology companies led the broader market lower. Apple fell 2.1% and chipmaker Nvidia dropped 3.6%.

Airlines were among the few bright spots. American Airlines rose 3% to lead all the gainers in the S&P 500. Delta Air Lines rose 1.7% and United Airlines added 1.6%.

The worries over Chinese property developers and debt have...