Asia stocks slump as euro zone worries linger; Nikkei closed
Investing.com
Published Jan 09, 2012 02:49AM ET
During late Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.2% Australia’s S&P/ASX200 eased 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index remained closed for a public holiday.
The U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 200,000 in December from a downwardly revised 100,000 the previous month and beating expectations for a gain of 150,000. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 8.5%, the lowest level since February 2009.
But market sentiment remained downbeat amid lingering concerns over the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.
Property developers came under selling pressure in Hong Kong after state-run Xinhua News Agency reported over the weekend that land sales in China’s southern city of Shenzhen fell 22% in 2011 from a year earlier.
Hong Kong’s third largest property developer Hang Lung Properties declined 1.9%, rivals Sino Land Company saw shares drop 2.4%, while shares in Hutchison Whampoa retreated 1%.
Hong Kong-based retailers with high exposure to Europe also contributed to losses, with Esprit Holdings falling 1.1% and Li & Fung shares dropping 1.25%.
Meanwhile, in Australia, shares in retailers performed poorly after official data showed that retail sales were flat in November, disappointing expectations for a 0.4% gain.
Department store chain David Jones saw shares fell 2.85%, while electronics retailer Harvey Norman slumped 0.7%.
Miners were also lower, tracking a decline in raw material prices. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw shares fall 0.35% and 0.6% respectively.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was downbeat ahead of a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.4%, France’s CAC 40 futures slipped 0.25%, London’s FTSE 100 futures fell 0.2%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a decline of 0.5%.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce a report on investor confidence as well as official data on German industrial production.
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Written By: Investing.com
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