The Asian stock markets are expected to extend their recent losses as lingering concerns about the ongoing European debt crisis weighed on the markets amid worries about the impact on the global economy.
Spain has now formally asked for a bailout to shore up its ailing banking sector, and it was quickly followed by a similar request from Cyprus. In addition, Moody's downgraded 28 Spanish banks.
Europe is likely to remain in focus throughout the week, as European leaders are due to hold a summit to discuss the ongoing debt crisis on Thursday and Friday.
The U.S. markets finished firmly in the red on Monday as the Dow fell 138.12 points or 1.1 percent to finish at 12,502.66, while the NASDAQ tumbled 56.26 points or 2 percent to end at 2,836.16 and the S&P 500 slid 21.30 points or 1.6 percent to 1,313.72.
The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index plummeted by 2.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Switzerland's SMI dropped 0.75 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly lower on Monday as China's Shanghai Composite plummeted 1.63 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI plunged 1.19 percent, Indonesia shed 0.8 percent, Taiwan retreated 0.77 percent, Japan's Nikkei gave away 0.72 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.51 percent, Australia dropped 0.50 percent, Thailand fell 0.48 percent and Singapore's Straits Times shed 0.45 percent. Malaysia was up 0.05 points.
by RTT Staff Writer
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