Nikkei hit by US recovery fears Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 2.86pc to 9,408.36. In Hong Kong, Shanghai and South Korea shares were down between 0.1pc and 1pc. "Sentiment turned downbeat as the latest US indicators underlined an economic recovery is slowing," said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.   Related Articles FTSE 100 breaks winning streak on Spain fears Asian stocks jump on Intel profits, Singapore's strong growth Asian stock markets slide on fall in US retail sales Wall Street drags global markets down further London shares slide as global bull run fades Asian markets tumble on US car and bank woes The US government said on Thursday its factory output dropped 0.4pc in June, the most in a year, because of a slump in production of cars, home-building materials and processed food. The disappointing output figure, marking the first decline in four months, sent US stocks falling overnight as the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.[Read more...]