Asian stocks down as Europe woes linger

TOKYO – Asian stock markets fell sharply Wednesday as Germany's move to tighten control over trading of government debt and financial shares underscored that Europe is still struggling to stabilize the euro.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 200.36 points, or 2 percent, to 10,042.28. South Korea's Kospi index lost 34.56 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,608.68 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was off 1.8 percent at 4,421.10.

Selling spread across Asia after the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 114.88 points, or 1.1 percent, to 10,510.95 with Germany's plan to tighten financial regulations unnerving investors.

The euro, the currency shared by 16 European nations, has been driving global stock trading for weeks as investors interpreted its slide as a sign of continuing economic problems in Europe. It hit a new four-year low of $1.2160 on Tuesday.

Germany announced a ban Tuesday on so called naked short-selling of eurozone government debt and shares of major financial companies, a move that came as European officials seek to strengthen control of markets.

Naked short selling was cited as one of the factors in world markets' turbulence during the 2008 financial crisis. Germany's step brought underscored a fear that a further drop in the euro will continue to rattle world markets.

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Euro slip

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Asian stock markets tumbled Monday on investor concern the Europe debt crisis will worsen as the euro fell to a 4-year low.

Investors weren't convinced last week's $1 trillion bailout package will keep a sovereign debt crisis from spreading from Greece to other European countries.

In an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel to be published Monday, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Europe's economy "is in its most difficult situation since World War II or perhaps even since World War I."

"The market is concerned that the euro could trigger another financial crisis," said Linus Yip, a strategist with First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "I don't think that's likely, but that's the fear out there."

The euro fell to $1.2271 on Monday, the lowest since 2006, from $1.2352 on Friday.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 260.36 points, or 2.5 percent, to 10,202.15, while South Korea's Kospi lost 2.8 percent to 1,648.04 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was down 2.6 percent at 4,491.30.

China's benchmark index in Shanghai tumbled 3.6 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 2.5 percent, India slid 2.3 percent and Thailand sank 2.8 percent.

Asian investors are concerned that cost-cutting fiscal measures being taken by Greece, Portugal and Spain could hamper a recovery in the eurozone economy and undermine export demand.

On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 162.79 points, or 1.5 percent, to 10,620.16.

In currencies, the dollar edged down to 91.88 yen in Tokyo from 92.30 yen in New York late Friday.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down $1.35 to $70.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The June contract lost $2.79, almost 4 percent, to settle at $71.61 on Friday.

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Euro slips on EU debt woes, Asian stocks soft

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The euro slipped on Wednesday on nagging worries about festering euro zone debt problems despite a $1 trillion rescue package unveiled this week, which fueled a short-lived rally in global stocks.

Sterling held its overnight gains after Conservative party leader David Cameron took over as British prime minister after securing a power-sharing agreement between his center-right party and the smaller Liberal Democrats.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average (.N225) edged up 0.5 percent, but gains were capped by continued foreign selling of Japanese stocks on concerns that the euro zone relief package did little to resolve the region's longer-term debt problems.

"Since the start of this month, foreigners have really been selling Japanese stocks, partly because Japanese markets were closed for holidays and foreign markets fell during that time, and partly because the Greek debt crisis really worsened," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a strategist at Okasan Securities.

"At this point, I don't think a lot of this money is flowing into other Asian share markets. It's probably going into U.S. Treasury bonds and gold as part of a shift from riskier assets."

Orders for Japanese stocks placed through 10 foreign securities houses before the start of trade on Wednesday showed selling for a fifth straight day.

MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed (.MIAPJ0000PUS), a day after falling just over 1 percent, though most major markets in the region were weaker, following modest losses on Wall Street. (.N)

Benchmark indexes in Hong Kong (.HSI) and South Korea (.KS11) fell by as much as 0.6 percent, but Australia (.AXJO) advanced more than 1 percent as its federal budget boosted banks.

On Monday, the MSCI ex-Japan index climbed 3.6 percent -- its biggest single-day percentage gain since May 2009 -- fueled by hopes that the massive rescue package would prevent Greece's debt crisis from spreading to other countries in the euro zone and possibly sparking another global credit crunch.

But the global rally quickly fizzled on Tuesday as worries resurfaced that Greece and other heavily-indebted euro zone members will not be able to deliver on promises of deep spending cuts.

The euro was trading around $1.2636, down 0.2 percent from late U.S. trade, but off a 14-month low of $1.2510 hit last week.

One near-term downside target for the euro may be around $1.2580, near Friday's low, one trader said.

Sterling hovered near $1.4898 after rising above $1.5000 on Tuesday.

The Conservatives and the smaller Liberal Democrat party agreed on Wednesday to form Britain's first coalition government since 1945, ending uncertainty over who would take power after inconclusive elections last week.

U.S. crude futures fell almost 0.6 percent to above $75.96 a barrel, while spot gold fell $4.85 an ounce to $1,227.2.

U.S. gold futures hit an all-time high above $1,230 on Tuesday as investors continued to worry about Europe's debt problems, boosting gold's appeal as a safe haven in times of market turmoil.

(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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