"May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks tumbled, heading for the biggest monthly drop in more than three years, while U.S. bond yields fell to a record low and the yen strengthened as divisions widened over solving Europe’s debt crisis. Oil in New York entered a bear market.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.3 percent as of 1:02 p.m. in Tokyo, set for an 11 percent monthly decline. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. Yields on 10-year Treasuries slid as much as 3 basis points to 1.59 percent, while similar-maturity Australian debt fell below 3 percent for the first time. The yen reached the highest in more than three months against the dollar. Rubber plunged as much as 5.1 percent and oil was 20 percent below this year’s peak.
World stock markets have lost $4.6 trillion this month amid concern Europe’s crisis is spreading. The cost of protecting Spanish bonds against default climbed to a record yesterday and a Greek poll showed support for anti-austerity parties ahead of elections next month, while the European Commission challenged Germany’s remedies to the financial crisis. Japan’s industrial production rose less than economists expected today and Brazil cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low.
“The market is genuinely worried about the potential disorderly default and exit by Greece and what that means in terms of contagion risks,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “It will have to be a response by governments and the central bank to stem the panic in the market.”
Asia Losses
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at 1.62 percent, while Japan’s similar-maturity debt slid as low as 0.81 percent, a level not seen since 2003. U.S. employers probably added 150,000 jobs in May, based on the median estimate from a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the government report tomorrow. The gain was 115,000 in April. The jobless rate is projected to hold at 8.1 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is poised for its biggest monthly loss since October 2008. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 1.9 percent today, the most among the region’s biggest equity markets, led by exporters including Canon Inc. and Honda Motor Co.
The euro slid for an eighth day against the yen before data tomorrow forecast to show the jobless rate rose to a record and manufacturing contracted across the 17 nations that share the euro.
Revised Rescue
An opinion poll yesterday showed most Greeks want to see the terms of a financial rescue revised, stoking fears the nation may default and be forced to exit the euro. The European Union’s central regulator challenged Germany’s remedies for the financial crisis, calling for direct euro-area aid for troubled banks and demanding a path to common bond issuance.
Oil was dropped 24 cents to $87.58 a barrel in New York, set for its biggest monthly drop in more than three and a half years. Crude futures traded near the lowest settlement in seven months after slumping 3.2 percent yesterday. It has fallen 20 percent from this year’s highest settlement of $109.77 a barrel on Feb. 24, a common definition of a bear market.
The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities decreased 0.2 percent to its lowest level since October. Rubber futures fell 3.9 percent in Tokyo, dropping for a second day. Stockpiles of the material used in tires are building up, as car sales decline in China, according to the Qingdao International Rubber Exchange Market.
The cost of insuring bonds from default rose in Asia, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan climbed 8 basis points to 203, Credit Agricole SA prices show. The index is headed for its highest close since Jan. 16, according to CMA.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at jclenfield@bloomberg.net ; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net "
Steven Morris CA (SA)
Mobie : 083 943 1858
Fax: 086 671 2498
E-Mail: steven@global.co.za
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