Asian stocks fall for fifth straight day [October 28 2008]

Asian stocks fell for a fifth straight day today as investors pulled money out of the region in anticipation of a deep global slowdown, while Japanese bank shares tumbled on expectations of sharp market losses.

Large financial institutions such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest lender, saw their stocks fall 10-16 percent for a second day as investors focused on the investment portfolios of Japanese banks that have likely deteriorated as the Nikkei share average hit a 26-year low.

The U.S. dollar climbed to a 2-1/2-year high against the euro, benefiting as institutions and investors unravel overseas trades financed by borrowing in dollars. The result has been a scramble for the U.S. currency and a broad decline in almost every asset class outside of government bonds in the euro zone, Japan and the United States.

The yen strengthened against the euro, a day after the Group of Seven rich nations issued an unusual brief statement singling out the yen, warning that high volatility in the currency could be detrimental to stability.