Asian markets, gold dip

Asian markets fell, tracking losses on Wall Street as worries rose that a deal by European Union leaders to contain the regions debt crisis would not be enough to solve its fiscal woes.The concern, which weighed on the euro, was amplified by warnings from credit ratings agencies over the situation, with Moodys Investors Service saying that the debt crunch was in a critical and volatile stage.Tokyo was 1.06 percent lower in afternoon trade, Sydney fell 1.30 percent while Hong Kong was off 0.87 percent. Seoul lost 1.43 percent, with Shanghai shares 1.33 percent lower.Quite simply, the EU summit was a sink or swim moment and judging by the ensuing price action across global risk assets, its not the all-encompassing solution the market was anticipating, Chris Gore, currency analyst at GoMarkets in Melbourne, told Dow Jones Newswires.On Friday, 26 of the European Unions 27 members backed tighter budget policing to help address the crisis threatening to crack apart the eurozone monetary union and send the global economy into another deep recession.The 17 eurozone nations signed up to the pact -- which gives the EU more power over national budgets -- while nine non-members indicated the possibility to take part in this process after consulting their parliaments.However, Germanys hope for a treaty revision were dashed when Britains Prime Minister David Cameron opted out of the plan by using his veto, saying he could not get the protection he wanted for the City of London financial centre.Some leaders hope the pact will convince the European Central Bank to drop its reluctance to use its full arsenal against the crisis after ECB president Mario Draghi called for a new fiscal compact last week.Leaders also planned to pump 200 billion euros ($267 billion) into International Monetary Fund coffers to help the eurozone, which is struggling to boost its own rescue fund to one trillion euros.In Tokyo, Japans finance minister Jun Azumi on Tuesday called the tighter fiscal discipline pact a big step forward, but added there remained a lack of clarity around tackling the crisis and what role would be played by the IMF.Ratings agency Standard & Poors is expected to pass judgement on the agreement this week after putting 15 of 17 euro-member states -- including France and Germany -- on downgrade warning.The agency last week announced the AAA status of the EU itself was on credit watch, citing worsening economic conditions and discord among leaders.Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings predicted a significant economic downturn in Europe with the debt crisis likely to continue through 2012, while Moodys said the crisis remains in a critical and volatile stage.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.34 percent lower Monday, while the broader S&P 500 lost 1.49 percent and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.31 percent.Intel shares sank 4.0 percent after it lowered its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, blaming the months of flooding in Thailand that shut down some of the worlds largest plants making computer disk drives.On currency markets, the euro fetched $1.3178 and 102.70 yen in Tokyo morning trade, compared with $1.3188 and 102.72 yen in New York late Monday. The dollar was flat against the Japanese currency, at 77.90 yen.New Yorks main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, was up 19 cents to $97.96 a barrel.Gold was trading at $1,655.20 an ounce at 0410 GMT, against $1,680.94 an ounce late Monday.