Posted : 23 May 2011 1729 hrs
Asian stocks tumble after Greek debt downgrade


 

Photos 1 of 1 Traders at the Hong Kong stock exchange.

HONG KONG - Asian stocks fell sharply on Monday as traders were spooked by a downgrade of Greece's credit rating and fears over how the eurozone can dig itself out of its debt hole.

Sentiment was also hurt by preliminary data suggesting a slowdown in the Chinese economy, with the HSBC Purchasing Manager's Index at a 10-month low in May.

Ratings company Fitch on Friday slashed Greece's rating by three notches to B+, citing its growing problems in getting its public finances in order.

Fitch said the move reflected the "scale of the challenge facing Greece in implementing a radical fiscal and structural reform programme necessary to secure solvency of the state and the foundations for sustained economic recovery."

Hong Kong stocks fell 2.11 percent and Shanghai slumped 2.9 percent. Tokyo shed 1.52 percent, Sydney lost 1.88 percent, while Seoul closed down 2.64 percent.

Taipei fell 1.01 percent, Manila closed 0.51 percent lower while Wellington lost 0.66 percent.

Singapore closed 1.83 percent lower, Jakarta lost 2.44 percent while Kuala Lumpur fell 0.78 percent.

Among the biggest losers in Tokyo trade was beleaguered utility Tokyo Electric Power, which fell 8.99 percent after the company posted the biggest ever loss for a Japanese non-financial firm.

TEPCO said it had lost a record US$15 billion in the financial year ended March and its under-fire president resigned to take responsibility for the worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago.

Shares in the utility fell to 334 yen, down nearly 85 percent since the day before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, triggering reactor meltdowns.

Lingering uncertainty over the direction of the company amid fears over the size of compensation liabilities was hitting the shares.

"The government looks unlikely to reach a consensus on its financial support plan for TEPCO anytime soon, and that will weigh heavily on the stock," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, an investment strategist at Okasan Securities.

Machinery stocks also suffered following a Nomura Equity Research report Friday that projected a fall in demand for construction machinery in China.

"We now expect sales volume of hydraulic excavators in China (produced by overseas manufacturers) to fall 20 percent year-on-year in the fiscal year ending March 2012, versus our prior assumption of a 10 percent rise," Ishiguro said.

Komatsu lost 5.9 percent.

Hong Kong and Shanghai shares were sold amid concerns over a slowdown on the mainland after early data from HSBC suggested manufacturing had slowed in May.

The banking giant said the preliminary purchasing managers index for May fell to a 10-month low of 51.1, from April's 51.8. Although a reading above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 suggests contraction, the figures point to an easing in the world's biggest economy.

However in Hong Kong, second-hand luxury handbag retailer Milan Station surged 77 percent at one point on its market debut.

The firm was more than 2,100 times oversubscribed in its initial public offering, a record for the city.

US stocks began the fall on Friday after the Greek downgrade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.74 percent to end the day at 12,512.04.

- AFP/ir

now its june, many will be vested

nowadays sti don't really depends on dows,

many investors are closing in on asian stocks.

STI may decline further at least till next Tuesday (Oct 4th).

This message was edited by MONEY MONK on 26-Sep-2011 @ 11:26 PM

Bro, you are a chartist?

What happening ?

No more updating.

Very good charting and TA.

Cheers.

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