Asian stocks mostly bearish

Apart from India and China, most of the markets maintain their weak run

Asian markets mostly ended lower on a combination of strong dollar and continued worries on the global macroeconomic scenario. The US currency had hit a fresh four-year high against the Euro yesterday and though the currency eased somewhat in the intraday moves, the sentiments were uncertain, keeping the late recovery under check for the Asian stocks. The DOW futures were all over the place, rising at one point and falling at another. Selling pressure on commodities also kept the overall movement lackluster, hurting the resource stocks. Financials were particularly under stress today after the European Central Bank said on Monday that banks in the bloc could suffer 195 billion euros of write-downs by the end of 2011 in a second wave of losses from the global financial crisis. India and China managed to show some resilience while the other markets were marred in bearish activity.

The Australian stocks stumbled right from start. Weak cues from Wall Street and selling pressure in commodities failed to lift the sentiments while a softness moderation in the economic growth also kept advances limited. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index declined 32.10 points, or 0.73% and closed at 4,381, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,404, representing a loss of 33.00 points, or 0.74%.

On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the economy grew at a considerably slower pace between January and March compared to the final three months of 2009, with private sector spending on machinery and equipment and construction acting as a major drag on growth. As per the report, the nation's GDP grew 0.5% from October to December period of last year. This was exactly in line with analyst forecasts, and follows a revised 1.1% expansion in the final three months of 2009. Economic growth for the December quarter was revised up from 0.9%. The report further noted that, on a year-over-year basis, the Australian economy grew 2.7% in the March quarter.

The Japanese stock market extended losses for the second consecutive, giving up early gains as traders preferred to lock in profits. The markets had bounced earlier after the Prime Minister Hatayoma offered to quit his post. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index gace up108.59 points, or 1.1%, to 9603, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues closed down 9.99 points, or 1.1%, to 870.

On the economic front, a statement released by the Bank of Japan revealed that the monetary base in the country jumped 3.7% on year in May, coming in at 98.432 trillion yen. That was sharply higher than analyst expectations for a 2.8% annual increase following the 2.9% gain in April. Banknotes in circulation were up 0.6% on year, although coins in circulation eased an annual 0.4%. Current account balances surged 22.9% on year, including an 18.6% annual spike in reserve balances.

In China, stocks were seen edging up slightly after a volatile session. Markets bounced back from early lows but gave up bulk of the intraday gains, on worries about Chinese banks' fundraising plans. Bank of China, which is raising 40 billion Yuan ($5.9 billion) by selling convertible bonds in Shanghai, said yesterday that it may consider new fundraising plans. The benchmark Shanghai Composite added 3 points to close up 0.12% on the day.

In Mumbai, stocks bounced back as a conclusive break above 5000-point mark on the NIFTY provided plenty of buying support for the blue chips. At the close, the benchmark 30-share index, BSE Sensex added 169.81 points or 1.02% at 16,741.84. Meanwhile, the broad based NSE Nifty went up by 49.65 or 1% at 5,019.85. Good gains were noted in the information technology, Auto and Realty stocks.

In overnight trades, US stocks closed sharply lower after a choppy trading session, with news of possible criminal charges against BP Plc largely responsible for a late-session sell-off. Concerns about European financial stability and China's diminished pace of manufacturing activity also weighed on the markets, while upbeat economic data out of the U.S. once again failed to prop up equities. The major averages closed near their worst levels of the day. The Dow dropped 112.61 points or 1.1 percent to 10,024.02, the Nasdaq declined by 34.71 points or 1.5 percent to 2,222.33 and the S&P 500 slid by 18.70 points or 1.7 percent to 1,070.71.

In other markets, Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 0.13% while Straits Times of Singapore added 0.45%. TSEC in Taiwan eased considerably though, shedding1.28% on the day.

In commodities, crude oil extended losses to trade under $72 per barrel as markets awaited the US weekly inventories report. In currencies, dollar stayed steady hugging to levels just above 1.2200. The euro hit a four-year low of $1.2110 on Tuesday after the ECB's warning of a new wave of bank losses.