Asian markets this morning sharply plunged following the massive drop in US shares. Australian stock market shed 1.7 per cent in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei gave up more than 300 points, or 2.8 per cent. Asian shares fell on Standard & Poor's ratings downgrades of Portugal and Greece and worries that the debt problem of the two nations could put the recovery in Europe under pressure.
The Australian shares opened higher on Tuesday despite most Asian markets dropped in early trade. Miners were boosted by stronger copper and gold prices. Most Asian markets yesterday rose as sentiment was improved after prospects of a European Union and the International Monetary Fund bailout for Greece. The Australian sharemarket was closed on Monday for a public holiday. In economic news today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is due to unveil producer price indices (PPI) for March quarter. The National Australia Bank releases its business confidence survey for the March quarter.
Australian shares extended losses by 0.5 per cent in early trade on Friday, ignoring Wall Street's small gain overnight. Asian stock markets opened mixed today as investors are cautious with concerns about Greece's shaky finances. The Australian dollar opened slightly lower against the US dollar this morning, but hit a new high against the euro overnight. On the economic front today, Australian Bureau of Statistics releases international trade price indices for March.
Australian share dropped sharply this morning, while most Asian markets also opened lower as Greece's debt woes lingered. Thursday Japan's Nikkei shed more than 1.7 per cent in early trade, and Australia's S&P/ASX200 declined 1.1 per cent. Yesterday Asian markets were stronger as technology stocks were encouraged by solid earnings from Apple and higher commodities prices pushed up resources shares. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.7 per cent each, China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1.8 per cent.
The Australian shares Wednesday opened stronger with 0.6 per cent in early trade. The market rose on hope of an overall corporate earnings recovery and on higher commodities prices. The Australian dollar was also up this morning as investors' risk appetite increased. Asian stock markets mostly rebounded yesterday. China's Shanghai Composite closed flat after a massive drop in previous trading session, with property shares remained weak.
The Australian stock market has opened stronger led by financial shares, as Wall Street rebounded after investors reassessed the potential effects of the fraud case against Goldman Sachs. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index and the broader All Ordinaries index both were up 0.5 per cent in early trade.
The Australian stock market opened in negative territory this morning following Wall Street's plunge on Friday. Asian markets also fell sharply Friday. Japan's Nikkei lost 1.5 per cent on stronger yen, while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, due to Chinese government's further move to restrict speculative property investments.
