Is the MAY syndrome starting !!
REF : BLOOMBERG :
"May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks tumbled the most since November and the euro weakened to a three-month low after French Socialist Francois Hollande was elected President and U.S. employers added fewer jobs than forecast. Treasuries and the yen advanced, while commodities slid.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 2.2 percent as of 11:41 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 1.2 percent. The euro lost 0.8 percent to $1.2979, while the yen rose versus all of its major peers. Ten-year Treasury yields declined four basis points to 1.84 percent, while bond risk in Asia advanced. The S&P GSCI Index of commodities dropped to the lowest level in four months and oil slumped as much as 3.2 percent in New York.
Hollande, the first Socialist in 17 years to control Europe’s second-biggest economy, pledged to push for less austerity, while Greek voters flocked to anti-bailout parties. U.S. payrolls increased by 115,000 in April, the smallest gain in six months, according to Labor Department data on May 4. Indonesia will report gross domestic product for the first quarter later today.
“There’s been a lot of concern about what’s going on in the U.S., China, and recession in Europe and now we have more concern about Europe,” Vasu Menon, the vice president for wealth management at Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The company oversees about $223 billion. “That’s going to hurt the markets.”
Europe’s Debt Crisis
Austerity measures aimed at stemming Europe’s turmoil have driven economies from the Netherlands to Spain back into recession, emboldening politicians campaigning for growth. The elections took place as 386 billion euros ($501 billion) of emergency loan packages for Greece, Ireland and Portugal and a focus on deficit reduction failed to stem Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
The euro slid 0.9 percent to 103.60 yen, extending a 1.8 percent drop last week. The dollar was at 79.83 yen and the Australian dollar depreciated for a sixth day, falling 0.5 percent to $1.0134.
Hollande got about 52 percent against about 48 percent for Nicolas Sarkozy, according to estimates by four pollsters. His platform calls for policies German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes, including increased spending and a delayed deficit- reduction effort.
‘Major Concerns’
“There are major concerns about the euro,” said Marito Ueda, the senior managing director in Tokyo at FX Prime Corp., a currency margin company. “What’s common to both Greek and French voting is that people aren’t feeling good about austerity measures, which are the crux to a resolution of Europe’s debt problems.”
The euro has declined 1 percent this year, according to Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, which track 10 developed-nation currencies. The dollar has lost 1.1 percent and the yen has weakened 5.1 percent, the indexes show.
More than 20 stocks fell in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index for each that rose. The gauge is still up 6.5 percent for 2012. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.5 percent today, Taiwan’s Taiex Index lost 2.2 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index sank 1.8 percent.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 2.6 percent, heading for the biggest drop since November, after Japanese markets were shut for a two-day holiday last week. The index has fallen 11 percent since March 27, poised to enter a so-called correction.
Sony, KT Corp.
Sony Corp. shares retreated 4.1 percent to the lowest level in 25 years in Tokyo amid concern that a weaker euro may reduce the value of European sales for Japan’s exporters. KT Corp., South Korea’s largest phone and Internet company, rallied 6.3 percent in Seoul after reporting first-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates.
The S&P GSCI Index of commodities fell 1 percent to 646.89, the lowest level since Dec. 30. Copper for July delivery on the Comex declined 1.1 percent to $3.68 a pound. The London Metal Exchange is closed for a public holiday.
“There are still many hurdles in Europe,” Matt McCormick, who helps oversee $6.2 billion at Bahl & Gaynor Inc. in Cincinnati, said in a telephone interview. “There are no easy answers and the electorate is rejecting austerity. People will take a renewed focus on Europe and that focus is not positive.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net ; Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net
Steven
Steven Morris CA (SA)
Mobie : 083 943 1858
Fax: 086 671 2498
E-Mail: steven@global.co.za
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