"Crunch time's coming for the Greek bailout and whether they go to a referendum," said Peter Copeland, senior institutional dealer at BBY in Sydney. "Markets are going to be very nervous about the outcome, so volumes are likely to be thin and moves will be skittish." Oil and copper prices were down.
The Europe woes overshadowed Wall Street's rise Wednesday, which were driven by hints from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke of another round of stimulus measures to revive the U.S. economy.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7%, South Korea's Kospi Composite slid 1.2% and New Zealand's NZX-50 rose 0.1%. Markets in Japan were shut for a holiday.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 122 points in screen trade.
The euro fell against the U.S. dollar and Japanese yen after comments from French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel indicated that the Greek referendum is essentially a vote on whether or not Greece wants to remain in the eurozone. The Australian dollar, a barometer of regional risk-sentiment, also dropped.
"The recovery (in the euro/dollar Wednesday) was helped by hopes the Greek government will survive this week's confidence vote. However, the situation in Greece is still hanging in the balance," said Mike Burrowes, currency strategist at BNZ in Wellington. He noted that markets were dealing with a new layer of uncertainty after the European Union and the International Monetary Fund Wednesday said they will not release the next aid payment to Greece until after the proposed referendum. "This raises the chance of a 'disorderly' Greek default," Burrowes added.
The single currency was at $1.3680 against the dollar, from $1.3748 late Wednesday in New York, and at Y106.75 against the yen, from Y107.27.
Heightened risk aversion pushed the U.S. dollar higher against regional currencies. The Australian dollar was at $1.0227 against the U.S. dollar, from $1.0350 late Wednesday in Sydney, while the greenback was roughly steady against the Japanese yen at Y78.04, from Y78.05 late in New York.
Investors were also looking out for the European Central Bank's policy decision and post-meeting press conference, the first under new president Mario Draghi, later Thursday and for any catalysts from the Group of 20 nations' summit.
Cyclical stocks remained under pressure in the region, while earnings reports also kept investors cautious as they looked for signs of trouble amid the recent ructions in markets and the darkening outlook for global growth.
In Seoul, LG Electronics tumbled 9% on speculation the company may launch a rights offer. The Korea Exchange has asked LG to clarify the speculation and the company is obliged to respond before 0900 GMT. A company spokeswoman told Dow Jones that the electronics makers is investigating the speculation.
ANZ Bank, Australia's third largest bank by market capitalization, fell 1.0% in Sydney after its full-year profit came in slightly below expectations, weighed by a 31% decline in global markets income in the second half. Other Australian banks were down in tandem, with Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank both falling 1.2%.
Spot gold was at $1,732.60 per troy ounce, down $4.80 from its New York settlement on Wednesday. December Nymex crude oil futures were down 61 cents at $91.90 per barrel on Globex.
Related Post:
Asian Stocks
- asian stock market ahead of a ECB policy decision february 7 2013
- Asian stocks opened mixed january 28 2013
- IMF said asian economic growth forecast 2013
- asian stock markets drop november 6 2012
- impact Hurricane Sandy on stock market
- Why Asian stock markets down october 24 2012
- asian stock markets october 23 2013
- Asian stock markets down october 22 2012
- Asian stock markets october 5 2012
- Asian stock markets october 3 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment