Investing.com – Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday amid doubts about the implementation of a massive EU bailout plan and renewed fears over the ability of cash-strapped euro zone nations to slash their budget deficits.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 2.12%; South Korea's Kospi Composite slid 0.44%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.13%; and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 1.14%.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.08% on concerns that the Chinese government will raise borrowing costs to combat inflation, after official data showed that consumer prices in China rose 2.8% in April from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 18 months.
On Monday, the European Union announced that the aid package's central component was a promise by EU nations to back EUR 440 billion in new loans to bail out heavily indebted economies. But investors on Tuesday questioned the wisdom of solving the region's debt crisis by taking on more debt.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was also dim: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a fall of 1.99%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 1.49%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a slide of 1.61%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decline of 1.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Census Bureau was set to publish data on wholesale inventories, a signal of future business spending. Also Tuesday, a research group, the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, and a newspaper, Investor's Business Daily, were due to release a report on U.S. consumer confidence.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 2.12%; South Korea's Kospi Composite slid 0.44%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 1.13%; and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 1.14%.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.08% on concerns that the Chinese government will raise borrowing costs to combat inflation, after official data showed that consumer prices in China rose 2.8% in April from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 18 months.
On Monday, the European Union announced that the aid package's central component was a promise by EU nations to back EUR 440 billion in new loans to bail out heavily indebted economies. But investors on Tuesday questioned the wisdom of solving the region's debt crisis by taking on more debt.
The outlook for European equity markets, meanwhile, was also dim: France’s CAC 40 futures indicated a fall of 1.99%; Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 1.49%; EURO STOXX 50 futures indicated a slide of 1.61%; and Britain's FTSE 100 futures pointed to a decline of 1.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Census Bureau was set to publish data on wholesale inventories, a signal of future business spending. Also Tuesday, a research group, the TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics, and a newspaper, Investor's Business Daily, were due to release a report on U.S. consumer confidence.