Asian stocks fell to their lowest in almost eight weeks on Monday while the dollar hit a record low against the euro, as the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan and the Feds discount rate cut were seen to underscore the frailty of the global financial system, reports Reuters. Safe-haven assets rose, with spot gold surging more than 2% to a record high above $1,000 an ounce, while JGB futures jumped to a three-year high and US Treasury futures hit five-year highs. The dollar reached a record low of $1.58 against the euro and a 12-year low below Y96. The MSCI measure of Asian stocks ex-Japan dropped 1.5% as of 0108 GMT, their lowest since Jan 23, and the Nikkei 225 fell nearly 4%. US stock index futures also slid late on Sunday, pointing to a sharp decline in stocks on Wall Street on Monday.
