Asian shares continue to slide on weak data

The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index hit its lowest level for four months yesterday, after disappointing US construction data.

The Nikkei fell 4.2%, its worst day since June, with January's falls the country's third worst start to a year for half a century. The ongoing sell-off in emerging markets has also been putting downward pressure on European shares. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 extended recent losses yesterday, falling 0.69%. Lloyds led the fallers, down 2.93% as the bank admitted it would have to set aside a further £1.8bn in the fourth quarter to compensate for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), in turn delaying dividend payouts. The index looks likely to fall further today, with...