Stock markets in Asia have reacted with scepticism to the approval of a revised financial rescue plan by the US Senate.
Japan's main Nikkei index was down 1.3% in afternoon trading in Tokyo, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng had lost 1%.
Analysts said concern persisted about the rescue deal's fate in Congress, amid deep fears for the US economy.
The revised $700bn (Ј380bn) package must still be approved by the House of Representatives, which rejected an earlier version on Monday.
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Merkel urges China to work for success in talks with Dalai Lama ... House, so it's hard to know what will happen there," Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities, told Reuters news agency.
"If you look at recent indicators for the US and Japan, the economy is clearly bad," he said. "You can't expect a rebound just on the bill passing the Senate."
Regional slide
South Korean stocks also fell after the US Senate vote, amid signs of a continued flight to products such as US Treasury bills, which are considered a haven.
Australian shares fell 0.5% on Thursday after the Senate vote, and analysts there said they expected scepticism to continue until the House of Representatives also backs the rescue plan and it is seen to work.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said his government would cooperate with the Bank of Japan to maintain financial stability in Japan.
The Bank of Japan said it had injected one trillion yen ($9.5b) into the financial system, for the 12th straight business day.
(BBC)
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