Asia Business Sentiment falls in Q4 as global worries weigh

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Business sentiment among Asia's top companies dropped sharply in the fourth quarter, extending last quarter's declines, with global economic uncertainty and rising costs weighing on the region's firms, a ThomsonReuters/INSEAD survey showed.

The ThomsonReuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment Index fell to 62 in the fourth quarter from 66 in the third quarter of 2013, the lowest reading since the third quarter of 2012. A reading above 50 indicates an overall positive outlook.

Sentiment in Southeast Asia's $1.5 trillion economy was undermined by political turbulence in Thailand and a typhoon in the Philippines, causing dismal readings of 40 and 58 respectively, which were the lowest for both countries since the poll was first compiled in 2009.

Although China and India's bullish scores of 75 and 82 respectively supported the index, export-driven north Asian economies such as South Korea as well as regional trading hub Singapore also showed weaker readings, underscoring still-anaemic global business conditions.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee in SEOUL, Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI and Prashant Mehra in MUMBAI; Editing by Matt Driskill)