Asian stocks tumble as bonds rise on growth fears

By Kevin Plumberg

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks slid on Thursday, after Wall Street closed at a three-month low, sparking fears of a pullback in export demand with oil prices remaining high and feeding a rally in safe-haven government bond prices.

The U.S. dollar was down for a fourth straight day against major currencies as expectations for higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve continue to be doused by evidence the U.S. economy may not have hit bottom yet.

Japan's Nikkei share average tumbled 2 percent in early trade, leading the region lower and bringing the year's losses to 7.5 percent. Car makers such as Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, which are sensitive to fluctuations in fuel prices, were among the biggest weights on the index.

"Exports support Japan's economy and there's no way Japan won't be affected. Shanghai and Vietnamese stocks are already eroding," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities in Tokyo.

Shares elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region fell 1.1 percent, snapping a three-day string of gains and bringing the year-to-date decline to 15 percent, according to an MSCI index.

Shanghai stocks eased 1.3 percent in early trade and are now down 45 percent this year, while Vietnam's small market fell a further 2.4 percent to take year-to-date losses to 60 percent.

In South Korea, consumer technology heavyweight Samsung Electronics led the KOSPI 1.4 percent lower. Samsung's stock fell more than 3 percent after a Taiwanese paper report that some of the company's chips had problems.

NOT ALL NEGATIVE