Asian markets lower on Europe fears

HONG KONG: Asian shares fell in early trade Monday as markets awaited details of plans to fix Europe's debt crisis and the outcome of key Sino-US trade talks, with tensions between the economic superpowers.

Tokyo edged down 0.09 percent, Sydney lost 0.73 percent, Seoul was down 1.13 percent while Hong Kong was off almost 2.0 percent. Chinese shares fell into negative territory, trading 0.20 percent lower.

Markets also reacted to news Japan logged an unexpected trade deficit in October, while business hub Singapore predicted sharply lower economic growth next year -- and warned a weaker global economy could worsen the situation.

"It's a brand new week but the same old concerns hover over financial markets," said Tim Waterer, senior foreign exchange dealer at CMC Markets in Sydney.

"Debt debacles on both sides of the Atlantic continue to halt any potential uprising of brighter sentiment from traders."

The European Commission will publish legislative proposals for common eurozone bonds on Wednesday in the latest bid to contain the debt crisis, which has threatened to plunge the world economy into recession.

New rules would see troubled eurozone states effectively club together to guarantee each other's debts and police national budgets to keep the region's fiscal woes in check.

The proposals have been designed to combat nearly two years of regional turmoil after bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and with even France now facing mounting pressure going into a presidential election year.

Governments have been deposed by economic turmoil in several nations, with Spain's conservative Popular Party sweeping to victory Sunday in a general election with rising concerns about the country's ability to finance its debts.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned Sunday that Europe's economic problems, if not addressed, could spread, leading to "major" consequences for the United States, a key trade and business partner which is already fighting to pull itself out of the economic doldrums.

Investors also awaited details of China-US trade talks which started Sunday, with Beijing's currency policy -- and claims it undervalues the yuan -- and market access restrictions expected to top the agenda.

Wall Street was mixed on Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 0.25 percent higher while the broad-based S&P 500 edged down 0.02 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.60 percent.

Japan on Monday posted a 273.8 billion yen ($3.6 billion) trade deficit in October, reversing a year-earlier surplus of 812.6 billion yen and confounding economists' expectations.

Also Monday, Singapore said it was now forecasting sharply lower economic growth of 1.0-3.0 percent in 2012, down from an estimated 5.0 percent this year amid an export slowdown. The city state's open and trade-dependent economy is considered a bellwether for Asia's exporters.

In Sydney, Qantas said it was hopeful of reaching a compromise before midnight in fraught contract talks with staff unions that triggered the shock grounding of the carrier's global fleet.

On currency markets, the euro fetched $1.3522 and 103.96 yen in early Asian trade, almost unchanged from $1.3519 and 104.00 yen in New York late Friday.

The dollar was at 76.88 yen, compared with 76.93 yen in New York and a post-war low of 75.32 yen at the end of last month.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, fell 32 cents to $97.35 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery shed 28 cents to $107.28.

Gold was trading at $1,718.75 an ounce by 0230 GMT, down from $1,720.00 late Friday.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011