NEW YORK: Stocks and the euro took a beating on Tuesday after Greece's surprise call for a referendum on the latest eurozone bailout deal rekindled fears the country could face an imminent default. The euro hit a near three-week low against the dollar and banking stocks plunged after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou late on Monday said he would ask voters to decide if they wanted to adopt the drastic spending cuts required for Greece to secure its next tranche of rescue loans.
"It's a huge shock to everyone," said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management in Toronto. "It could jeopardise the bailout package, cause a disorderly Greek default and end up costing the eurozone and banks more money." The eurozone's plan would lend Athens 130 billion euros and arrange a 50 percent write-down on its huge debt. US stocks tumbled nearly 2 percent and European shares posted their biggest one-day loss in more than a month. US stocks tumbled on Tuesday after investors were blindsided by a surprise call for a Greek referendum on a EU bailout plan, casting doubt on the sustainability of the recent market rally.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 295.39 points, or 2.47 percent, at 11,659.62, according to the latest available figures. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 34.96 points, or 2.79 percent, at 1,218.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 77.45 points, or 2.89 percent, at 2,606.96. In Europe, eurozone banks and insurers led the retreat, with declines of 9.5 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively, but no sector was immune.
Stocks and the euro came off lows after the leaders of Germany and France said they were determined to implement decisions made at the European Union Summit last week fully and on a report of opposition to the referendum. If Greeks do vote against the rescue package, it could hamper broader efforts to contain the eurozone's debt crisis from spiralling into a global crisis. A vote will likely be held in early 2012.
"The Greek referendum position and plan for a no-confidence vote has caused the market to price back in the risk of a Greek exit from the euro," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy for North America at BNP Paribas in New York. Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the two key figures behind the Greece bailout plan, said they would meet with Greek leaders, the International Monetary Fund and European bankers in Cannes, France, on Wednesday.
US bank shares were lower, with the KBW bank index off 2.6 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed down 3.4 percent, and MSCI's all-country world stock index lost 2.7 percent. French banks suffered steep declines due to their heavy exposure to Greek sovereign debt. BNP Paribas ended down 13 percent; Societe Generale lost 16 percent and Credit Agricole fell 12.5 percent.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei stock index closed down 1.7 percent. Heavy losses across global stock markets revived safety bids for German Bunds and US Treasuries for a second day. German Bund futures jumped 2.9 points to 138.42, the highest level in nearly a month, while prices on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose 29/32 point, pushing its yield down to 2.01 percent. In the currency market, the euro fell against the dollar, sinking near a three-week low. The euro fell to $1.36080, its lowest since October 12 on trading platform EBS, and was last at $1.37548, down 0.8 percent. The dollar was little changed against the yen, a day after rising to a three-month high on Japan's latest intervention. Japan sold an estimated $65 billion to $75 billion of its currency to curb its rise versus the greenback. The dollar was last at 78.24 yen.
A strengthened dollar and worries about the Greek vote spurred an initial wave of selling in oil, gold and other commodity prices. They pared their earlier losses as the euro recovered from its session lows. Brent crude futures in London dipped 0.1 percent to $109.44 a barrel, while US crude futures closed down 1.8 percent at $91.53 a barrel. Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,715.49 an ounce.
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