Asian Markets Fall On Greek Debt Problems And US Fiscal Woes

Asian Markets fell today on continued U.S. worries and the eurozone debt problems. Global lenders did not give further aid to Greece as of yet.

In Japan, the Nikkei gave up earlier gains to trade down 43.42 points to 8633.02. This is the seventh straight day of losses for Japan’s benchmark as investors worry that the continuing U.S. fiscal policy standoff could trigger a recession in the States.

Hitachi cable jumped 18% today to trade at ¥126. This is a three month high and comes after announcing a merger with Hitachi metals to form a company producing autos, electronic parts and fiber optics. Olympus jumped 5 percent from a multi-month low after the camera and endoscope maker lifted its annual profit forecast from 14.3 percent to ¥8 billion.

Markets in China and Hong Kong we also lower with the Hang Seng down 203.29 points and the Shanghai off by nearly 30 points. AviChina Industry (2357.HK) rose 7 percent after becoming a key funding platform for Aviation Industry Corp. to raise cash for growth.

Zijin Mining (601899.SS) lost 1 percent after it released they will have flat output for 2013 as falling production from its top mine is offset by growth from other mines.

The Kospi, in South Korea, lost 17 points. Samsung Electronics lost 1.1 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding lost 3.7 percent. Hyundai Motors lost 2.3 percent.

The Australian benchmark S&P/ASX tumbled 1.5%. This is the biggest single day loss since July 23. The S&P/ASX has now hit a seven week low at 4379.80. BHP-Biliton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO), two of Australia’s top mining companies each fell 1.6 percent. Major Banks led by Westpac Banking (-1.2%) also lost ground today.

U.S. Markets were flat in thin trading yesterday. The DJIA lost 0.23 points, the S&P500 rose 0.15 points and the NASDAQ lost 0.15 points.

Microsoft (MSFT) lost 2.12 percent and H-P (HPQ) lost 1.47 percent. These were the worst performers on the day. United Technologies (UTX) rose 1.46% as the DJIA traded in a 78 point range most of the day.

Apple (AAPL) continues its slide. The tech giant was down 4.23 points and is now down more than 23% since its high of 705.07 on Sept. 12. Facebook rose 4.48 percent ahead of the company’s lockup expiration this week.

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