Asian shares sink after Wall Street drop, US economy fears

People look at an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, May 7, 2015. Asian markets drooped Thursday after comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chief fanned fears about the American economy and sent Wall Street lower. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi) People look at an electronic stock indicator of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, May 7, 2015. Asian markets drooped Thursday after comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chief fanned fears about the American economy and sent Wall Street lower. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

By Associated Press May 7, 2015 2 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Asian markets drooped Thursday after comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chief fanned fears about the American economy and sent Wall Street lower.

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KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.3 percent in afternoon trading to 19,283.31. It was the first day of trading for the week after the Tokyo market was closed for national holidays. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 5,655.20. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.7 percent to 2,093.04. Hong Kong Hang Seng was 0.8 percent lower at 27,430.55 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.8 percent to 4,158.70.

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YELLEN SPEECH: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested that stocks are generally overvalued, when she said market valuations were generally “quite high” in response to a question about risks to financial stability at a conference in Washington. Some market experts think the Fed will have to increase its short-term rate relatively soon to fight inflation.