Updated on
Summary Asian markets were mostly lower after Moody's downgraded its credit ratings on six European nations.
The move came after Greek lawmakers pushed through a package of austerity cuts late Sunday, with Premier Lucas Papademos saying the measures were the countrys only hope to avoid economic meltdown and secure another bailout.Sydney lost 0.87 percent in morning trade, Tokyo was off 0.15 percent by the midday break while Seouls benchmark index was 0.25 percent lower.Hong Kong was flat, down 0.03 percent, with Shanghai shares off 0.17 percent.Moodys chopped ratings for Italy, Spain and Portugal and said its top ratings on Austria, France and Britain were also at risk.Ratings were also cut for Slovenia, Slovakia and Malta, with the agency warning that all nine countries were increasingly susceptible to financial and macroeconomic risks from the eurozone debt crisis. The news came as Chinese and European Union leaders met in Beijing Tuesday for a summit likely to be dominated by the debt crisis. There has been speculation that China may try to help resolve the eurozones fiscal woes, armed with its massive foreign exchange holdings, as Beijing looks to prop up a key export market.European finance ministers will meet Wednesday in Brussels to sign off on the Greek deal necessary for a Europe-sponsored rescue package, followed by an offer to private sector holders of Greek government bonds.The debtholders will be asked to exchange their existing bonds for new bonds with half the face value, chopping about 100 billion euros off Greeces 350 billion euro ($463 billion) debt mountain.Athens must make the offer by Friday at the latest to complete its debt writedown -- and receive the fresh bailout package -- before a looming March 20 bond redemption, when the government must repay 14.5 billion euros.Markets will likely trade cautiously ahead of tomorrows meeting of (European Union) finance ministers, especially as it appears that at least Germany and the Netherlands remain sceptical of Greeces austerity plans, which could frustrate the approval of a second 130 billion euro bailout package, Credit Agricole said in a note to clients.The budget cuts sparked anger among many Greeks and Athens has been rocked by violence, with dozens injured and buildings set ablaze as an estimated 80,000 protesters voiced their opposition to the unpopular austerity plan.The drop in Asian markets followed a solid day on Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.57 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.68 percent with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 0.95 percent.Apple shares finished at $502.60, surpassing the $500 mark for the first time amid reports the tech giant would unveil a new iPad next month and after it released blockbuster quarterly earnings in January. The firm more than doubled its net profit to a record $13.06 billion as revenue also hit an all-time high.Meanwhile, the owners of New Yorks Empire State Building applied to take it public in a real estate trust with the aim of raising $1.0 billion in an initial public offering.On currency markets, the euro stood at $1.3160 and 102.09 yen, from $1.3191 and 102.34 yen.The dollar bought 77.57 yen from 77.58 yen.Gold was at $1,717.25 an ounce at 0310 GMT, against $1,721.90 in New York.
