1.   Concerns that the Labour Party, which is expected to win the next general election, will impose a windfall profit tax on utilities also has hurt investor sentiment.

2.   Falling prices for food producers also hurt market sentiment.

3.   The Asian currency crisis shows no signs of abating and that hurts investor sentiment, traders said.

4.   The lowered rating may lead to a rise in the borrowing cost for Indian companies, particularly in infrastructure projects, and may hurt investor sentiment.

5.   While the recent strength of the yen has hurt business sentiment, companies will weather the negative effects of a strong yen over time, he said.

6.   Past downgrades of Philippine banks by credit rating agencies have hurt sentiment for listed banks on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

7.   Poor interim results over the last two days of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, or H shares, have further hurt market sentiment, Chang said.

8.   Analysts had expected the recent stock market losses and signs of slow growth to hurt corporate sentiment, but few had expected such grim news.

9.   Analysts have said that a delay in the target date would hurt sentiment in the banking sector and heighten investor concerns over issues like sluggish loans growth.

10.   But interest rates remained at high levels, hurting investor sentiment, dealers said.