By ALEX FRANGOS
HONG KONG—Though the world’s economic and financial problems are largely concentrated elsewhere, markets in Asia have been hit hard in recent weeks, falling more than those in the U.S. and Europe.
Driving the selloff are fears of global recession, worries about the fragility of the financial system and a cash crunch for some investors that led to forced selling.
The fall in Asian markets means they have now priced in all but a major shock to the global economy, and to some analysts appear cheap.
“The way markets are trading, people are anticipating some kind of falling off the cliff,” says Wendy Liu, head of China research for Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. Ms. Liu sees no cliff. “These valuations don’t come every year,” she says.