Asian markets were beaten down Monday, with mainland Chinese stocks falling for a fourth-straight session, as a string of euro-zone downgrades from Standard & Poor’s and stalled debt talks in Greece thrust Europe’s crisis back into the spotlight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Index dumped 121.66 points, or 1.4%, to 8,378.36
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gave back 192.22 points, or 1%, to 19,012.20
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut France and Austria’s triple-A credit ratings by one notch Friday, in addition to also lowering the ratings of Italy, Spain, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia, Portugal and Cyprus.
Meanwhile, Greece’s talks with private-sector creditors broke down Friday. Crucial negotiations to restructure the nation’s debt are expected to resume on Wednesday.
Several financial firms lost heavily across Asia.
Nomura Holdings Inc. dropped 2.8% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. shed 2.7% in Tokyo.
Australia & New Zealand Banking Corp. dropped 1.6% in Sydney, Shinhan Financial Group Co. gave up 2.1% in Seoul and Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. sank 4.2% in Taipei.
Shares of China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. fell 3.3% and Ping An Insurance Group Co. lost 2.5% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, the two stocks shed 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively.
Shipping shares also suffered notable losses. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. dropped 3.8% in Tokyo and Hanjin Shipping Co. fell 1.6% in Seoul, while Hong Kong-listed China Cosco Holdings Co. shed 3.8% in Hong Kong and 2.2% in Shanghai.
China Southern Airlines Co. slumped 8.6% and Air China Ltd. shed 5.1% in Hong Kong after Citigroup downgraded the stocks to sell; in Shanghai, they fell 2.5% and 1.7%, respectively.
European-exposed exporters posted steep losses in Japan, as the euro sank to a fresh 11-year low against the Japanese yen
Mazda Motor Corp. dropped 3.1%, while Sony Corp. gave up 2.3%.
Shares in Elpida Memory Inc. lost 3.2% amid reports the chip maker aims to put together a drastic restructuring plan for creditors by the end of January, as it struggles with weak chip sales and a soaring yen.
In other markets;
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 Index dropped 48.69 points, or 2%, to 2,345.65
Taiwan’s Taiex Index shed 77.92 points, or 1.1%, to 7,103.62, with President Ma Ying-jeou’s
election victory unable to dent the Europe-inspired gloom.
Korea’s Kospi Index dipped 16.41 points, or 0.9%, to 1,859.27
Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 35.05 points, or 1.3%, to 2,756.49
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index subtracted 16.82 points, or 0.5%, to 3,210.64
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 48.65 points, or 1.2%, to 4,147.24
