US widens tsunami warning to most of Pacific

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WASHINGTON: The US tsunami monitoring center on Friday widened a warning to virtually the entire Pacific coast, including Australia and South America, after a massive earthquake in Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center expanded a previous alert to include the US state of Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and the entire coast of Central and South America. ( Read: Taiwan on tsunami alert after Japan quake )

The center had earlier said the tsunami would hit Hawaii at around 2:45 am (1245 GMT) and the US West Coast at 7:45 am (1545 GMT).

Destruction caused by tsunami in Japan some Pics

Commodity prices: could be Under pressure

Shares and commodity prices tripped reacting to the massive earthquake of 8.9 magnitude on the Richter scale. An immediate reaction from traders indicated that commodity prices could continue to fall going forward.

The earthquake powerful earthquake hit 400km from Tokyo at the 20 miles in the Pacific Ocean at 1446 local time (0546 GMT).

Nymex crude prices fell 1.4% to USD 101.26 per barrel while Brent Crude prices dipped 1.4% to USD 113.83 at 1 pm.

BSE Sensex in India fell 1.3% to 18094.19 and Nifty fell 1.3% to 5420. According to a fund manager at a global investment management company, the crisis could trigger sentimental selloff across the region for some time. “Commodity prices could fall and there could be a flight to safety to safe assets,” the fund manager said.

Gold prices were already firm in the afternoon trade. MCX Gold prices traded at Rs 20,954 up Rs 116.

JAPAN Earthquake

A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, shaking buildings in the capital Tokyo, causing many injuries, at least one fire and triggering a 10-metre (32.81 feet) tsunami.

Nikkei average closed down 1.7% at 10,254.43 points after the earthquake struck. India Tsunami Centre says there are no local alerts yet in wake of Japanese quake.

Meanwhile, Bank of Japan (BoJ) has assured that it will do whatever is required to ensure the financial market stability. It has vowed to supply adequate liquidity to the markets.

BoJ also informed that interbank system has been unaffected by quake. The central bank has set up disaster control team, headed by governor Shirakawa.

Japan quake causes tsunami, fires, landslide

The U.S. Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.8.

A police car drove down Hitotsugi Street, lights flashing, announcing through a bullhorn that there was still a danger of shaking.

The Tokyo stock market extended its losses after the quake was announced. The central bank said it would do everything to ensure financial stability.

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.