Asia stocks tumble on earnings, growth worries; Nikkei down 1.36%

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were sharply lower on Friday, as disappointing earnings reports sparked fresh concerns over a global economic slowdown, while sustained euro zone debt fears weighed on market sentiment.

During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.16%, Australia’s ASX/200 Index dropped 0.84%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 1.36%.

Sentiment briefly strengthened on Thursday, after the release of positive U.S. economic data.

A government report showed that durable goods orders, which include transportation items, jumped by a seasonally adjusted 9.9% in September, compared to expectations for a 7.1% gain.

Excluding volatile transportation items durable goods orders rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.0% last month, beating expectations for a 0.8% gain.

Separately, the Labor Department said the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell to 369,000, from 392,000 the previous week, compared to expectations for a decrease to 370,000.

But investors remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty over when Spain will request a bailout and trigger the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei was sharply lower, weighed by heavy losses on the electronics sector.

Fuji Electric sank 4.62% on concerns the company may miss its full-year operating profit forecast of JPY23 billion yen after it posted a 5.4 billion operating loss for the six months ended September.

Canon added to losses, with shares plunging 3.10% after the camera and printer maker cut its full-year earnings outlook following a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, as Chinese consumers began shunning Japanese products over a territorial spat and amid a weak global economy.

On the upside, Wacom surged 11.92 , after the maker of pen-based computer input systems revised its operating profit forecast for the six months ended September 30 by 47.2% to JPY2.65 billion, due to booming demand for smartphones and tablets.

Meanwhile, shares in Hong Kong were also on the downside, due to disappointing earnings reports.

China Unicom was one of the worst performers on the index, as shares dove 6.98% after the company posted third-quarter net profit that lagged market expectations.

Bank of China lost 0.32%, erasing earlier gains, after the country's fourth-largest lender's third-quarter performance easily beat estimates after cutting back on bad-loan provisions.

Elsewhere, Australian shares declined, mostly weighed by losses in financial stocks.

Mining giant Rio Tinto plunged 1.83% and rival BHP Billiton tumbled 1.48%, while Gindalbie Metals dove 6.85%.

Financial stocks were also lower. Westpac Banking lost 0.28% and National Australia Bank fell 0.38%, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank declined 0.59% and 0.79% respectively.

Looking ahead, European stock futures pointed to lower open.

The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a 0.77% drop, France’s CAC 40 futures tumbled 1.03%, London’s FTSE 100 futures declined 0.73%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a 0.77% slump.

Later in the day, Germany was to release the Gfk report on consumer climate.

In the U.S., preliminary data was to be produced on third quarter gross domestice product. In addition, the University of Michigan was to release revised data on consumer sentiment.