AsiaNews.it
Asian markets fall amid U.S. and European debt fears
Tokyo, -3.34, Hong Kong -6.01, Seoul to -7.5, -1.10 Shanghai, Manila to -4. Inflation in China rises to 6.5 in July. The price of gold climbs to1,754.24 dollars an ounce. Oil falls below 80 dollars a barrel.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Asian markets have tumbled, with heavy losses of up to 7.5%, dominated by fear of the U.S. downgrading of its credit rating and the debt crisis in Europe. Gold prices have soared to record levels and oil prices have dropped suddenly. And all this despite the assurances of the G7 and G20 to support the economies of Europe, and Barack Obama’s claim that America always “will be a AAA country" (and not AA +).
At mid-day Tokyo was down to - 3.34% Hong Kong -6.01%, - 7.5 to Seoul, Shanghai -1.10; Manila - 4. At the beginning of the day, Mumbai had lost 2.34%.
Analysts murmur words like "fear", "widespread panic", "dark days". The fear is due to the downgrading of U.S. credit, by Standard & Poor's, but also the words of Jose Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, who warned that the debt crisis in the eurozone has spread in other economies. The concerns arise from the fact that the slowdown in these major economies will lead to a reduction in Asian exports and a revision of the growth rate in their economies. Even China is marked by the crisis, in July inflation rose to 6.5%.
In the afternoon there will be a summit meeting of the Federal Reserve to decide on additional policy responses
The collapse of Asian stock markets today was due, after the huge crash (the largest since 2008) on Wall Street with the Dow Jones dropping by 5.55% and the Nasdaq 6.9 less. European stocks also were hit, Frankfurt fell by 5%, - 4.7 in Paris, London - 3.4, Milan
-2.35.
Large losses were also recorded in Sao Paulo (Brazil), - 8% and Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 10%.
This morning, the Hong Kong gold rose to a new record 1,754.24 dollars an ounce. Oil, however, fearing unsold reserves because of the widespread crisis, fell to less than 80 dollars a barrel.