* Nikkei down 10%
* Australia, S. Korea, Taiwan down 7%
* U.S. futures negative
* Dow posts worst plunge since 1987
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, March 13 (Reuters) - Asia's stock markets crashed
on Friday as panic gripping world financial markets deepened,
and even haven assets such as gold and bonds were ditched to
cover losses in the wipeout.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 was in freefall, dropping 10% and
heading for its worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. Not
one stock on the index is in positive territory. .T
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 2% and is down 12.8% this week.
Australia's benchmark .AXJO fell 7.6% and is set for its
worst week on record, while in South Korea the won was shredded
and the Kosdaq .KQ11 fell 8%, triggering a short trading halt.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI fell 6.8%, its steepest
drop since 2008. China's Shanghai composite .SSEC fell 4%.
Currency markets steadied somewhat after furious dollar
buying overnight, as fears of systemic risks drive demand for
the world's reserve currency. FRX/
Even after its worst crash since Black Monday in 1987
overnight, Dow futures YMc1 are down about 0.8% in Asia and
S&P 500 futures ESc1 are off 0.4%. .N
"There is a sense of fear and panic," said James Tao, an
analyst at stockbroker Commsec in Sydney, where phones at the
high-value client desk rang non-stop.
"It's one of those situations where there is so much
uncertainty that no-one quite knows how to respond...if it's
fight or flight, many people are choosing flight at the moment."
The plunge, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads, gathered
pace after U.S. President Donald Trump spooked investors with a
move to restrict travel from Europe, and after the European
Central Bank disappointed markets by holding back on rate cuts.
Trade was halted on the S&P 500 .SPX. after it hit
downdraft circuit breakers. It fell further when trade resumed,
eventually losing 9.5% to close 27% below February's peak.
Gold XAU= , usually a safe harbour in times of panic, fell
3.5%, yields on long-dated U.S. Treasuries shot up - where they
mostly held on Friday. US/ GOL/
"Wherever anyone has any risk, people just want to bring
risk back to flat at the moment, that's what happening," said
Stuart Oakley, Nomura's global head of flow FX in Singapore
"This is what happens when you get what's known as a
value-at-risk shock, where people have drawn down so much P&L
that they just need to draw down all risk."
The VIX volatility index .VIX - Wall Street's "fear gauge"
- and an equivalent measure of volatility for the Euro Stoxx 50
.V2TX hit their highest since the 2008 financial crisis.
TRUMP, ECB UNDERWHELM
In a televised address late on Wednesday, U.S. President
Donald Trump imposed restrictions on travel from Europe to the
United States, shocking investors and travellers. Traders were disappointed after hoping to see broader
measures to fight the spread of the virus and blunt its expected
blow to economic growth.
The New York Federal Reserve surprised by pumping huge
amounts of cash into the banking system, aiming to head off the
sort of dislocation that saw markets seize up during the
financial crisis more than a decade ago. After adding $500 billion on Thursday, it will inject
another $1 trillion today in an effort to stop borrowing costs
from rising. Australia's central bank injected an unusually
large $5.5 billion into the financial system on Friday.
In early Asia currency trade, the dollar did its best to
hold gains against most major currencies after a blowout in swap
spreads showed investors are facing a greenback shortage.
The euro EUR= found footing at $1.1178 after falling as
far as $1.1054 overnight. The Australian dollar AUD=D3 lifted
about 1% from an 11-year low to $0.6293.
(Editing by Sam Holmes)