Asia stocks broadly lower on Greece fears; Nikkei drops 0.94%
Investing.com
Published May 16, 2011 02:51AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.3%, South Korea's Kospi Composite declined 0.75%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.94%.
Earlier in the day, Goldman Sachs cut its rating on Japanese equities to ‘underweight’, citing “greater cautiousness” on U.S. growth and domestic risks such as electricity supply and yen strength.
Shares in many of the big name Japanese exporters declined, with Toyota dropping 1.75%, Canon slipping 1%, while Nissan, which gets more than 75% of its sales overseas tumbled 2.5%.
Meanwhile, shares in Tokyo Electric Power Company plunged 7.3% after Standard & Poor’s lowered the company’s long-term corporate credit and debt ratings to BBB from BBB+.
Shares in Japanese lenders were weighed amid worries about their loans to the troubled nuclear operator. The nation’s largest lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial slumped 1.6%, while rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial sank 2.05%.
In Hong Kong, shares in oil producers led losses after oil prices retreated. Oil and gas giant PetroChina saw shares fall 2.5%, shares in CNOOC slumped 2.4%, while China Shenhua Energy saw shares sink 2.15%.
Property developers were also lower amid fears of further monetary tightening by China. Henderson Land Development saw shares fall 1.7%, while Sino Land shed 1.9%.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat after the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn for sexual assault over the weekend added to uncertainty surrounding a bailout for Greece.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a drop of 0.6%, France’s CAC 40 futures fell 0.55%, the FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decline of 0.3%, while Germany's DAX futures indicated a loss 0.45%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to publish official data on consumer price inflation, while the U.S. was to publish official data on manufacturing activity in New York state. In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.
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Written By: Investing.com
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