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| Asia markets close sharply lower on financial fears HONG KONG -- Asian markets ended sharply lower with financial stocks again taking the lead, as investors abandoned regional banking and insurance shares amid growing concerns over their earnings outlooks. (LFC:LFCNews , chart , profile , more Last. In Sydney, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both fell after the two miners said they'd cut output. News , chart , profile ) after the company said late it expects its 2008 net profit to decline by more than 50% because of declines in holdings of investment securities, competition, and higher payouts related to natural disasters last year. Shanghai gave up earlier gains to end in the red, while only Taiwan managed to avoid the region's decline, as merger talks among domestic chipmakers helped lift the overall mood. Anxiety in the region was stoked by China Life Insurance Co. Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alert Insider Discuss Financials Sponsored by:, , ) (HK:2628. |