Asia stocks, euro hit as ECB takes hard line on Greek debt

Friday, 6 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian stocks were mostly lower and the euro slipped on Thursday after the European Central Bank said it would not accept Greek bonds as collateral - a robust early response to Athens’s efforts to renegotiate bailout terms with creditors. Spreadbetters expected the Greek situation would take a toll on European equities, forecasting Britain’s FTSE to open down by as much as 0.6%, Germany’s DAX to fall 0.9% and France’s CAC down 1.1%. Risk appetite, which had warmed earlier in the week on hopes that Greece would swiftly win relief from its creditors, took a hit after the ECB abruptly pulled back its soft treatment of Greek debt and cancelled its acceptance of the country’s bonds as collateral. Japan’s Nikkei, which surged 2% on Wednesday, dropped 0.8%. Shares in South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore were also significantly lower. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1% after climbing 1% the previous day. Chinese equities bucked the trend, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 1%, after the central bank cut the level of reserves banks must hold. Wednesday’s move, intended to boost bank lending and energise China’s sputtering economy, failed to lift the mood in the rest of the region. “Although the move by PBOC does ease credit and may be beneficial to stimulating demand, it is also a clear sign that growth in China is declining at faster rate than previously thought and as such could have dampening effect on demand throughout the Asia region,” Boris Schlossberg, managing director at BK Asset Management, wrote in a note to clients. China’s easing drove down most emerging Asian currencies such as the South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah. “It will increase expectations for more easing by Asian central banks. It will put pressure on Asian FX to weaken,” said Sean Yokota, head of Asia strategy for Scandinavian bank SEB, in Singapore. Investors also became more risk-averse as an extended rally in crude oil petered out. Wall Street snapped a two-day surge overnight, weighed by a slide in energy shares.Among major currencies the euro traded at $ 1.1348, having fallen as far as $ 1.1304. It has completely reversed a short-covering rally that lifted it to $ 1.1534 on Tuesday. The dollar was little changed at 117.215 yen, with the market awaiting the US employment-related data later in the session as a preview to Friday’s all important non-farm payrolls.

Global business activity picked up in Jan: PMI

LONDON (Reuters): Global business activity accelerated last month as firms cut prices for the first time since the middle of 2013, allowing them to build up a backlog of work, a survey showed on Wednesday. JPMorgan’s Global All-Industry Output Index, produced with Markit, nudged up to 52.8 in January from December’s 14-month low of 52.4. It has now held above the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction for 28 months. “The start of 2015 saw the Global PMI Output Index at last edge higher, halting the slowdown in growth signalled by the surveys in the latter half of last year,” said David Hensley, a director at JPMorgan. But an index measuring prices charged fell below the breakeven mark for the first time since June 2013. Conversely, a gauge of unfulfilled orders moved above the key 50-level.

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