Asian markets tumble on unrest over Greek crisis

[June 16, 2011]  HONG KONG (AP) -- World stocks tumbled on Thursday, hammered by continuing fears that Europe's debt crisis could spiral out of control and worries over China's economy.

Oil prices stayed below $96 a barrel amid fears of sputtering U.S. economic growth, which would dampen demand for crude. The dollar rose to a three-week high against the euro but was lower against the yen.

In early European trading, the FTSE 100 index of leading British stocks fell 0.7 percent to 5,704.64 while France's CAC-40 was down 0.7 percent to 3,781.08. Germany's DAX was down 0.3 percent to 7,089.45.

U.S. shares were poised to open slightly higher. Dow futures were up less than 1 percent to 11,838 while S&P 500 futures were up 0.2 percent to 1,262.10.

Asian markets fell earlier Thursday, after rioters clashed with police in Athens over proposed austerity measures and coalition talks between Greece's government and opposition parties collapsed, renewing fears of a government debt default.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock fell 1.7 percent to end at 9,411.28 while South Korea's Kospi fell 1.9 percent to close at 2,046.63. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.5 percent to 21,953.11. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand also dropped.

"The Greek problem is a mess. Everyone is worrying whether the Greek government will default," said Jackson Wong, a vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. "Everything seems just very negative at this point."

Wong said investors are also worried about China's stubbornly high inflation, which hit 5.5 percent in May, according to a report earlier this week, driven by food prices. The inflation also raises fears of another interest rate hike.

Mainland Chinese shares slipped as liquidity was constrained by the central government's latest order to banks to raise the level of deposits they must hold as reserves, to a record 21.5 percent, as of June 20.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5 percent to close at 2,664.28 while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.9 percent to end at 1,097.17. Shares in expressways and coal miners weakened.

"I expect the market will also edge lower tomorrow, as June 20 is approaching," said Liu Kan, an analyst at Guoyuan Securities, based in Shanghai. "Monetary policy is certain to keep on tightening. It's a bear market, just accept it," he said.

Shares in expressway companies weakened after the government ordered a reduction in highway tolls amid reports of excessively high charges. Guangdong Provincial Expressway Development Co. lost 5.7 percent while Chongqing Road & Bridge Co. lost 2.9 percent.

Adding to woes are reports of accounting problems at Chinese companies listed in North America, which are making investors warier of Chinese companies in general, Wong said.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 90 cents to $95.68 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. The contract fell $4.56 to settle at $94.81 on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro slid to $1.4112 from $1.4169 in late trading Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.54 Japanese yen.

[Associated Press; By KELVIN CHAN]

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