HONG KONG AP Most Asian stock markets closed sharply lower Tuesday on the back of Wall Street's decline with the key index in Hong Kong tumbling for a third straight session. Hong Kong's blue chip Hang Seng Index plummeted 4.1 percent as the market digested a host of negative economic data as well as Monday's 2.3 percent fall by the Dow Jones industrial average in New York. The Hang Seng closed below the psychologically important level of 10000 points to end at 9975.85 down 426.47 points. Traders are worried about Hong Kong's economy which is struggling through recession said Michael Ng dealing director at Sassoon Securities. Hong Kong's gross domestic product fell by 7 percent in the third quarter prompting the government to lower its economic forecast a 5 percent contraction for 1998. Since that gloomy news was announced Friday the market has shed 7.1 percent. Late Monday the government reported its budget deficit for the first seven months of the fiscal year had reached 50.16 billion Hong Kong dollar U.S. dlrs 6.43 billion. That figure was well above the 21 billion Hong Kong dollar dlrs 2.69 billion deficit the government estimated for the fiscal year that ends March 31. Singapore shares also tumbled as investors took profits following the slump on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index fell 3.4 percent or 47.85 points to close at 1368.70. In Tokyo the Nikkei average of 225 selected issues fell 48.29 points or 0.3 percent to 14835.41 after a 185.69-point fall Monday. Traders said the market reacted mildly to Wall Street's drop and news that JDC a financially troubled contractor had filed for legal protection from creditors. ``Despite JDC's failure and the overnight drop in New York the market showed some resilience'' said Sachio Ishikawa general manager of the stock division at Chuo Securities. Weighed down by the sharp slide on Wall Street overnight the U.S. dollar bought only 122.78 yen in late Tokyo trading on Tuesday 1.04 yen lower than the rate in Tokyo on Monday and also below its late New York level of 123.26 yen. Bucking the trend was the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange where share prices extended a recent rally with the key index closing up 3.5 percent on what traders describe as buying spurred by year-end window dressing. At the close the Malaysian market's key Composite Index rose 17.28 points to 518.75. Elsewhere: TAIPEI: Share prices closed lower dragged down by concerns over the stability of Taiwan's banking sector and amid caution ahead of legislative elections this weekend. The market's key Weighted Stock Price Index rose 74.85 points or 1.04 percent to 7102.37. WELLINGTON: New Zealand share prices closed lower with the index falling to a four-week low in reaction to the drop overnight on Wall Street. The benchmark NZSE-40 Capital Index fell 41.33 points or 2.1 percent to 1950.01. MANILA: Philippine shares tumbled as investors cashed in on gains made in the past session after the decline in U.S. stocks. The 30-share Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 53.57 points or 2.7 percent to 1921.79. SYDNEY: Australian share prices closed generally lower after a fall in New York stocks and lower commodity prices on the London Metal Exchange. The All Ordinaries Index fell 39.1 points or 1.4 percent to 2734.1. SEOUL: Share prices closed mixed. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.92 points or 1.3 percent to 445.96. BANGKOK: Thai share prices closed 1.8 percent lower. The Stock Exchange of Thailand index dropped 6.66 points to 356.16. JAKARTA: Share prices closed mixed on late buying of some big capitalization stocks. The Composite Index rose 1.464 points to 387.735. APW19981201.0729.txt.body.html APW19981201.0454.txt.body.html