Asian markets fell Friday after reports of disagreement at the European Union summit which failed to secure the backing of the 27-member nations for treaty changes that are needed to coordinate fiscal policy to help resolve the debt crisis.
The Nikkei was down 1.3% at the time of writing. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.6% while the Hang Seng led losses for the region as it tumbled 2.6%. The Sensex was down 1.5% and in Sydney the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries gave up 1.6%.
EU leaders sealed a new fiscal pact for ensuring tighter discipline but a deal may now involve the 17 euro-zone countries plus any others that want to join.
Shares were pressured also after the ECB cut rates on Thursday as expected but stopped short of more steps, such as more buying of government bonds.
Economic data in China earlier today showed the country’s consumer inflation rate easing sharply to 4.2% in November, compared to a 5.5% rise in October.
Stocks on the Move
Stocks were lower across the board with index heavyweight Sony skidding 3.2%. Panasonic fell 2.8% and Sharp Corp. lost 3.3%. Fanuc was down 2.9%.
Japan’s largest lender, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial erased 1.2%. The bank purchased a 15% stake in AMP, the Australian investment management firm for A$425 million.
In auto, Nissan tumbled 4.1%. Honda Motor was off 0.4% and bellwether Toyota reversed 0.2%.
Tokyo Electric Power was among the few gainers, up 1.6% after Japan's trade minister said no arrangements were being made to inject public funds into the struggling utility.
In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper melted 5.6% while Aluminum Corp. of China fell 4.8%. CNOOC slipped 3.5% and PetroChina declined 4.2%.
Europe headquartered banks HSBC and Standard Chartered erased 3.4% and 1.6% each, respectively.
ICBC fell 4.7% while Bank of China fell 4.2%. AgBank and China Construction Bank Corp. were down 4.8% and 3% each, respectively.
In Mumbai, 28 of the 30 Sensex stocks were in the red. The top loser was BHEL, down 3.1%, followed by Sterlite and Bajaj Auto, both down about 3% each.
Other losers included M&M, Tata Motors, L&T, RIL, Jaiprakash, Tata Power, Airtel, Tata Steel and HDFC, all down in a range between 1.6% and 2.6%.
Miners were among the worst performers in Sydney with index leader BHP Billiton down 3.1%. Fellow miner Rio Tinto sank 3.6% while Fortescue Metals was down 2.5%. Woodside slipped 3.1%.
Silver Lake Resources was also down 3.1% despite a potential $5.2 million funding injection from the sale of unlisted options.
