Asian stocks declined on Thursday, following overnight falls in US and European markets, wiping out most of the regional benchmark index’s 2009 gains as the deepening global recession reduced profits and drove down oil and metals prices. The slide followed grim figures on US private sector employment for December and an earnings warning from technology bellwether Intel.
Asian markets (Thurs)
05:20am GMT
Nikkei down 333.73 (-3.61%) to 8,905.51
Topix down 25.45 (-2.87%) to 862.80
Hang Seng down 548.85 (-3.66%) at 14,438.61
US markets (Wed)
DJIA down 245.40 (-2.72%) at 8,769.70
Nasdaq down 53.32 (-3.23%) at 1,599.06
S&P500 down 28.05 (-3.0%) at 906.65
European markets (Wed)
FTSE100 down 131.41 (-2.83%) at 4,507.51
Eurofirst 300 down 11.72 (-1.32%) at 877.85
Currencies
05:22GMT
€/$ 1.3625 (1.3494)
$/¥ 92.52 (93.86)
£/$ 1.5068 (1.4888)
Commodities
05:24 GMT
Brent Crude (Feb09) up $0.70 at $45.93
Light Crude (Feb09) down $0.04 at $42.59
100 Oz Gold (Feb09) up $4.20 at $845.90
3M 24HR Copper down $10.00 at $3,310
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.47 (2.46)
UK 3.29 (3.26)
Germany 3.19 (3.14)
Japan 1.30 (1.26)
Sources: FT, Reuters