Beijing - China's two stock markets on Friday lost about 3 per cent of their value, following an overnight fall on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, dropped 3.29 per cent, losing 74.96 points to end the week at 2,202.45.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also lost 3.74 per cent of its value to close at 608.18, down 23.62 points.

Hong Kon

The benchmark index, BSE Sensex, opened negatively on Friday (Sep 05) at 14,569.01 after losing 330 points triggered by worldwide indications and lower oil.

For the week ended on August 23, inflationary data declined for the second time in a row to 12.34%, as compared to 12.40% during the previous week because of fall in the prices of primary goods.

Indian equities marked their closure on a lower note on Thursday (Sep o4) ahead of inflation figures and the result of the crucial Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting.

Heavy selling activity was seen across realty, oil & gas, metal and FMCG stocks, whilst IT and auto stocks went up.

The Sensex closed the day after losing 150.76 points at 14,899.10. It also touched an intra-day high of 14,994.15 and an intra-day low of 14,766.01.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks plunged Friday, dragged down by Wall Street and a strengthened yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 319.05 points, or 2.54 per cent, to 12,238,91.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 30.54 points, or 2.54 per cent, to 1,271.11.

Japan's government announced earlier on friday that the country's businesses had cut investment in the second quarter by 6.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Washington - US stocks posted sharp losses on Thursday as oil prices continued to fall and weekly jobless numbers sparked wider concerns about the state of employment in a sluggish US economy.

The job fears came ahead of monthly unemployment figures due out on Friday, and dragged down shares in Caterpillar Inc and United Technologies Corp among others. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted a further 75,000 jobs were lost in August.