Investing.com – Most Asian stocks slid on Wednesday amid mounting concern that the debt crisis which has wreaked havoc on Greece's economy will spread to other heavily indebted euro zone countries.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 2.11%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.33%, despite upbeat data on the country's housing market; the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, however, gaining 0.1%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that approvals for home-building in Australian rose in March at the fastest rate since 2002, far faster than expected, signaling that demand has not been damped by the central bank’s repeated interest-rate increases.
Japanese markets were closed as Japan marked Children's Day, a public holiday. South Korea's market was also closed for a holiday.
Resources stocks were among the worst performers, with BHP Billiton Ltd. slipping 4.12% in Sydney and Angang Steel Co. shedding 4.31% in Hong Kong.
The falls on Asian markets came a day after Spain's prime minister attacked rumors that his country would be forced to ask for a EUR 280 billion bailout as "complete insanity."
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a drop of 0.29%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a rise of 0.3%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a decline of 0.04%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.11%.
Later in the day, the market research firm Markit will publish a report on the euro zone services sector. The payroll processing firm ADP, meanwhile, will publish key data on U.S. nonfarm employment change.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 2.11%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.33%, despite upbeat data on the country's housing market; the Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, however, gaining 0.1%.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that approvals for home-building in Australian rose in March at the fastest rate since 2002, far faster than expected, signaling that demand has not been damped by the central bank’s repeated interest-rate increases.
Japanese markets were closed as Japan marked Children's Day, a public holiday. South Korea's market was also closed for a holiday.
Resources stocks were among the worst performers, with BHP Billiton Ltd. slipping 4.12% in Sydney and Angang Steel Co. shedding 4.31% in Hong Kong.
The falls on Asian markets came a day after Spain's prime minister attacked rumors that his country would be forced to ask for a EUR 280 billion bailout as "complete insanity."
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was mixed: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a drop of 0.29%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a rise of 0.3%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a decline of 0.04%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to an increase of 0.11%.
Later in the day, the market research firm Markit will publish a report on the euro zone services sector. The payroll processing firm ADP, meanwhile, will publish key data on U.S. nonfarm employment change.