In Asia, Stock Sell-Off Continues as Markets Sink HONG KONG - The sell-off that sent stocks around the world lower last Friday continued in Asia on Monday, as investors fretted about slowing growth in China and the prospect that the Federal Reserve would scale back its support of the United States economy. Markets slumped across the Asia-Pacific region, with declines of more than 1 percent in Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, and drops of more than 2 percent in both Japan and Hong Kong. The Nikkei 225 index was 2.5 percent lower by midday in Tokyo, extending a slide of 1.9 percent on Friday and hitting its lowest level since November. Investors in Japan were reacting to the additional concern of a stronger yen, which they fear may eat into earnings of Japanese exporters as it makes goods more expensive for customers overseas and less competitive globally. The Japanese currency, which tends to rise amid times of uncertainty because it is considered a relatively safe asset, has climbed sharply against the American dollar over the past few trading sessions. On Monday, it was trading at about 102.30 per dollar, compared with 104.71 yen per dollar on Thursday morning. The global sell-off started to gather pace on Thursday after weak data from the Chinese manufacturing sector reinforced concerns about the strength of the Chinese economy. Although China is still delivering robust growth - many analysts believe its economy will manage to expand more than 7 percent this year - its expansion is far less energetic than it once was, and is overshadowed by considerable risks and uncertainties as the authorities in Beijing seek to engineer a far-reaching shift in the economy. "Our baseline remains that China can avoid a hard landing, but the risk will remain for the foreseeable future," analysts at Société Générale wrote in a note on Monday. Moreover, other emerging economies are likely to see a further slowing of growth momentum, and in some cases painful recession could prove hard to avoid. At the same time, the Federal Reserve's recent decision to begin dialing back on the bond-buying programs that have helped keep interest rates low worldwide has fanned fears that emerging markets will now see much reduced inflows of cash as a result. The Fed is scheduled to announce on Wednesday whether it will continue to reduce its bond purchases.