During Asian trading on Tuesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.15%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.81%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 1.18%.
Greece remained stuck in a political deadlock prior to the opening bell in Asia on Tuesday, unable to form a coalition government in wake of recent parliamentary elections.
Widespread anger over austerity measures such as tax hikes and public-sector layoffs ended relative dominance enjoyed by the New Democracy and PASOK political parties in recent Greek elections, giving rise to organizations such as the leftist Syriza party, which has balked against forming a coalition government.
Syriza leaders remain staunchly opposed to austerity measures gripping the country's economy, and failure to end the stalemate could force a new round of elections in June, which would arguably increase the chances of Greece ditching austerity in exchange for bailout money and abandon the currency zone altogether.
Later Tuesday in Europe, a flurry of economic indicators are due out, and Greek concerns coupled with a Moody's decision to downgrade 26 Italian banks fueled fears those indicators will show a European economy falling deeper in trouble, which bruised equities worldwide.
Later Tuesday, preliminary gross domestic product growth figures are due out for the eurozone as a whole as well as for France, Germany and Italy.
Meanwhile, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research will release a report on German economic sentiment as well as for the entire eurozone.
Still, Europe doesn't want to see Greece abandon the currency zone, which prevented an all-out market meltdown early in Asia and on Monday in Europe.
However, the risk-off trading sentiment pushed prices down, especially in wake of weak Chinese industrial output and retail sales figures.
In Hong Kong, the top decliners included Esprit Holdings, down 3.02%, China Merchant Holdings, down 1.61%, and Sino Land, down 1.51%.
In Australia, the top decliners included Aquarius Platinum, down 9.66%, Beadell Resources, down 8.47%, and Kagara Zinc, down 7.69%.
European stock futures indicated a mixed opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.10%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures signaled a gain of 0.07%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.15%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.16% while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.18%.
On top of growth and sentiment figures due out in Europe Tuesday, European Union finance ministers are also scheduled to conduct meetings to discuss ways out of the crisis. In the U.S., retail sales and inflation figures are due out.
For the latest updates on the stock market, PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
No comments:
Post a Comment