Asian stock markets close Monday with sharp declines

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - All major Asian stock markets closed the first transaction day of the week with losses amid central banks' moves to protect the value of local currencies.

On Monday, the Indian central bank likely sold dollars to contain the decline of the rupee as the local currency hit a record level of 81.5 against the greenback.

Chinese central bank also took a measure to protect the yuan by increasing the foreign exchange risk reserve ratio to 20% from 0%.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, dropped 2.47% or 72.63 points to 2,863.39.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange was down 2.66%, or 722.28 points, to 26,431.55.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, lost 0.44% or 78.13 points to 17,855.14.

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 1.2%, or 37.14 points, to close at 3,051.23.

The Indian Sensex benchmark went down 1.64%, or 953.7 points, to end the day at 57,145.22 points, while the Singapore index dropped 1.4%, or 45.13 points, to close at 3,181.97.