Regional markets are lower as continuing concerns over the debt crisis in Europe outweigh any boost to sentiment from improved consumer confidence data in the U.S. The Nikkei falls 0.3%, the S&P/ASX declines 1.2%, the HSI slips 0.8%, the Kospi falls 0.9%, the Sensex declines 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite loses 1.1%. In FX markets, the EUR continues to trade in tight ranges, with investors eyeing the bond auction in Italy later in the day as a gauge of whether distressed government bonds will be purchased by European banks. Meanwhile, the USD is now steady against the JPY after a U.S. Treasury report criticizing Japan’s recent currency interventions briefly pressured the greenback. The EUR/USD is at 1.3062 from 1.3068 late Tuesday in New York, the EUR/JPY is at 101.62 from 101.77, and the USD/JPY is at 77.77 from 77.89. Japanese industrial production fell 2.6% on-month in November, hit primarily by flooding in Thailand, but the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it expects output to rise 4.8% in December and increase 3.4% in January, based on surveys of companies. Japan’s core CPI fell 0.2% on-year in November vs October’s 0.1% fall. South Korea’s financial regulator said its top policy priority for 2012 is maintaining the stability of the local financial markets and it won’t shy away from taking extreme measures if necessary. The BOK Manufacturers’ Outlook Index for January came in at 79, falling from December’s 83. Spot gold is at $1,587.80 down $4.50 from the NY close. February Nymex crude oil futures are down 4 cents at $101.30/bbl.
In line with Asian markets, European equities are seen marginally lower Weds. Capital Spreads sees the FTSE 100 down 2, Dax down 9 and Cac down 12.
EasyForexNews Research Team