Wall Street delivered a bad lead to Asian market today. US stocks plunged overnight as financials tumbled after President Barack Obama proposed stricter limits on financial institutions' risk-taking. Obama's plan will prevent financial institutions that own banks from investing in, owning or sponsoring a hedge fund or private equity fund.
Overnight US shares was lower on the disappointing Alcoa fourth-quarter report and profit warning from Chevron and Electronic Arts. Financial sector also fell as investors feared that a potential government levy might hurt bank profits.
The Australian sharemarket closed marginally lower in light trading yesterday as banks were down on concerns that bad debts could increase after interest rate rise. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gave up 5.9 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 4670.60, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 0.19 per cent to 4686.40 points.
Asian shares were mostly steady on Tuesday after significant rebounds in the previous trading session. Yesterday the Dow index concluded the last trading day of November in positive territory. It was its fifth consecutive monthly gain, despite a bad news from Dubai.
Asian stock markets mostly jumped on Monday. Financial stocks were rebounding in Australia, Korea and Japan on hopes the extent of the impact of the Dubai crisis would be limited. The United Arab Emirates central bank said Sunday it "stands behind" local lenders.
Overnight US stocks finished in a fresh 13-month high as energy and material sectors are boosted after the better-than-expected Japanese economy growth. The market was also inspired as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's said that interest rates would stay low. The US government data showed that retail sales rose 1.4 per cent in October, also exceeding market expectations.
US shares fell overnight led by Wells Fargo. A late sell-off in financial stocks was triggered after an analyst cut his investment rating on the company, saying the quality of its earnings was pretty poor. The Federal Reserve's latest beige book, showing weak consumer spending during late summer, also weighed down the market.
