Asia stocks drop on renewed Europe woes; Nikkei down 0.88%
Published Apr 04, 2012 11:10PM ET
During Asian trading on Thursday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.35%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.68%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.88%.
In Europe prior to the opening bell in Asia, turnout at a Spanish government debt auction fell short of expectations.
Spain's Treasury auctioned EUR2.59 billion of government bonds, short of a EUR3.5 billion target, in the country’s first debt auction since last week’s austerity budget.
Following the auction, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to 5.7%, up from 5.5% before the sale.
The Spanish government, meanwhile, has said the country’s public debt will rise to a record 79.8% of gross domestic product this year.
The news prompted investors to sell equities in Asia amid profit taking and also on fears that rising yields could mean investors are getting edgy in Europe, and the debt crisis, quiet in recent weeks thanks to approval of a Greek bailout facility, could be stirring to life anew and this time in the larger Spanish economy.
Comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve that monetary policy officials figure the need for stimulus measures is ebbing also fueled the selloff.
Easing measures often send stock prices rising when they involve a central bank injecting liquidity into an economy.
In Hong Kong, the top decliners included Wharf Holdings, down 0.46%, CLP Holdings, down 0.40%, and Hang Seng Bank, down 0.34%.
Top Australian decliners included Ramsay Health Care, down 0.20%, APA, down 0.19%, and Westfield Retail Trust, also down 0.19%.
European stock futures indicated a higher opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a gain of 0.07%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures signaled a gain of 0.03%. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the FTSE 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.05%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.06% while the S&P 500 futures were also up 0.06%.
Later Thursday, the U.S. will release government data on unemployment claims, while the Bank of England will announce its latest decision on interest rates.
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Written By: Investing.com
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