Asian stocks continue to back off

Markets mostly end lower on global growth worries

Asian stock markets continued to back off today, extending their recent spree of losses as the worries about a fragile global economy resurfaced yet again. The markets ended mostly lower with the US dollar continuing to witness steady safe haven buying and keeping the risky assets in check. The global stocks took a hit on Friday after calls by a European Central Bank official for more economic aid indicated the region's deficit crisis may take longer to solve. The US dollar rose to a fresh six week high thereafter and commodity prices slipped.



The Japanese market closed in red, tumbling to a new 9-month low, as the expected meeting between the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Japan turned out failed to give what the markets expected. The investors were expecting some clear action from the policymakers for controlling yen's strength against the dollar and the euro. Weak closing on Wall Street on Friday on concerns about economic recovery and mixed trading across other markets in the neighborhood also impacted market sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index ended with a loss of 62.69 points, or 0.68% to 9,117, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues was down 4.80 points, or 0.58%, to 825.

The Australian stocks ended the trading session on Monday, the first day of the trading week with losses as a hung parliament loomed large. Inconclusive results from the recent elections, the first in 70 years, kept traders guessing about the developments in the politics of the country. Weak closing on Wall Street in the US on Friday on concerns about global economic Most of the traders preferred to adopt a wait-and-watch approach and stayed on the sidelines awaiting a new Government and its stance on taxing mining resources. Weak commodity prices also hurt the sentiments. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index dropped 1.90 points, or 0.04%, and closed at 4,429 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,460, representing a loss of 1.70 points, or 0.04%.

In China, the key stock index closed slightly lower today on central government's urging local governments to take forceful measures on the property market. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.11 percent, or 2.94 points, to close at 2,639.37 points. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller domestic market, closed 0.39 percent higher at 1,121.65 points. Property developers led the losers after Vice Premier Li Keqiang urged local governments over the weekend to increase supply of low-cost housing and to rein in speculation.

In Mumbai, the key benchmark saw divergent trend with the BSE Sensex provisionally ending marginally lower while the S&P CNX Nifty logged small gains. Volatility was high as traders rolled over positions in derivatives segment from the August 2010 series to the September 2010 series ahead of the expiry of the near-month August 2010 contracts this Thursday, 26 August 2010. European stocks rose while Asian stocks ended lower.

The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 2.91 points or 0.02% to 18,398.91, as per provisional closing. The Sensex rose 52.56 points at the day's high of 18,454.38 in early afternoon trade. The index fell 30.80 points at the day's low of 18,371.02 in early trade.

In commodities, the light, sweet crude oil futures for October delivery rebounded from a low of $73.55 per barrel to quote at $74.02 a barrel in electronic trading, up 0.20 cents per barrel from previous close. Gold consolidated just above $1230 per ounce, trying to seek a clear direction after intraday sell off on Friday.