Asia falls ahead of key E.U. summit; Nikkei down 0.63%
Published Jan 29, 2012 09:27PM ET
During early Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.49%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.34%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.63%.
In Europe, Greece is close to restructuring its debts with private creditors, and although such an agreement will serve as a welcome sigh of relief, much remains to be done to get the bulk of Europe growing again.
Furthermore, in the U.S. on Friday, the Commerce Department reported that the country's gross domestic product grew 2.8% on year in the fourth quarter, up a full percentage point from the third quarter although most of that expansion came from businesses restocking inventories and not gearing up for more robust economic activity.
A still-sluggish U.S. economy means Asian exporters will struggle in the months to come.
In Hong Kong, the top decliners included New World Development, down 4.06%, Li & Fung, down 2.77%, and China Shenhua, down 2.15%.
In Australia, the top decliners included Gunns Limited, down 4.76%, White Energy, down 3.88%, and Fairfax Media, down 3.70%.
European stock futures indicated a lower opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.53%, while Germany ’s DAX 30 futures signaled a loss of 0.55%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a loss of 028%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.50% while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.60%.
On top of keeping an eye on the E.U. economic summit, market watchers will monitor on German inflation data.
Japanese manufacturing, household spending, unemployment and industrial output numbers are due out later Monday as well.
In Australia, the National Australia Bank's Business Confidence index will be released.
The U.S. is to publish government data on personal consumption expenditures, a leading indicator of inflation, followed by data on personal spending, the motor of the U.S. economy.
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Written By: Investing.com
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