Investing.com - Asian stock markets came off their earlier highs during late Asian trade on Monday, as the upbeat sentiment that boosted global equities on Friday in the wake of the euro zone’s banking plan announcement started to wane off.
During late Asian trade, Australia’s ASX/200 Index rose 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended the session little changed.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed to commemorate the hand-over of the territory to China in 1997.
U.S. and European stock markets soared Friday on news European leaders had agreed on new measures to tackle the region’s sovereign debt crisis.
After a two-day summit in Brussels, European Union leaders agreed to use the euro zone’s bailout funds to support struggling banks directly, without adding to national debt and also agreed to set up a joint banking supervisory body for the euro area.
In addition to the direct recapitalization of Spain’s banks, euro zone bailout funds will be able to purchase government debt in order to keep down borrowing costs.
Also, loans made to Spain by the ESM won’t have senior status, potentially reassuring other creditors. EU leaders also agreed to devote EUR120 billion in stimulus to encourage growth and create jobs.
However, market analysts warned that questions remain over the effectiveness of the measures, while emphasizing that they do little to address the root causes of the euro zone’s debt crisis.
Meanwhile, concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in Chinese economic growth lingered after official data showed that manufacturing in June grew at its slowest pace in seven months, as new export orders tumbled to lows hit in March 2009.
The rival HSBC PMI, which focuses more on small and medium-sized companies, inched up to 48.2 in June from 48.1 in May, indicating contraction for the eighth consecutive month.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended the session little changed after posting gains of as much as 1% in early trade.
Shares in construction and heavy machinery makers advanced after the Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan business-sentiment increased more than forecast in the second quarter.
Kobe Steel and Tokyo Steel rose 2.1% and 1.1% respectively, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries added 1.4%.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia rose on the back of strong gains in miners, after metal and oil prices surged on Friday.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining jumped 4%, BHP Billiton added 0.9%, while shares in BlueScope Steel rallied 13.3%.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly downbeat, after surging on Friday, as concerns remained over the long-term effectiveness of a European agreement to tackle the debt crisis in the euro zone.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.45% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.35%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.6% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on the unemployment rate. In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management was to release a report on manufacturing activity.
During late Asian trade, Australia’s ASX/200 Index rose 0.9%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended the session little changed.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed to commemorate the hand-over of the territory to China in 1997.
U.S. and European stock markets soared Friday on news European leaders had agreed on new measures to tackle the region’s sovereign debt crisis.
After a two-day summit in Brussels, European Union leaders agreed to use the euro zone’s bailout funds to support struggling banks directly, without adding to national debt and also agreed to set up a joint banking supervisory body for the euro area.
In addition to the direct recapitalization of Spain’s banks, euro zone bailout funds will be able to purchase government debt in order to keep down borrowing costs.
Also, loans made to Spain by the ESM won’t have senior status, potentially reassuring other creditors. EU leaders also agreed to devote EUR120 billion in stimulus to encourage growth and create jobs.
However, market analysts warned that questions remain over the effectiveness of the measures, while emphasizing that they do little to address the root causes of the euro zone’s debt crisis.
Meanwhile, concerns over a deeper-than-expected slowdown in Chinese economic growth lingered after official data showed that manufacturing in June grew at its slowest pace in seven months, as new export orders tumbled to lows hit in March 2009.
The rival HSBC PMI, which focuses more on small and medium-sized companies, inched up to 48.2 in June from 48.1 in May, indicating contraction for the eighth consecutive month.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended the session little changed after posting gains of as much as 1% in early trade.
Shares in construction and heavy machinery makers advanced after the Bank of Japan’s closely watched tankan business-sentiment increased more than forecast in the second quarter.
Kobe Steel and Tokyo Steel rose 2.1% and 1.1% respectively, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries added 1.4%.
Elsewhere, shares in Australia rose on the back of strong gains in miners, after metal and oil prices surged on Friday.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining jumped 4%, BHP Billiton added 0.9%, while shares in BlueScope Steel rallied 13.3%.
Looking ahead, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly downbeat, after surging on Friday, as concerns remained over the long-term effectiveness of a European agreement to tackle the debt crisis in the euro zone.
The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.45% at the open, France’s CAC 40 futures declined 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 futures dipped 0.35%, while Germany's DAX futures pointed to a drop of 0.6% at the open.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on the unemployment rate. In the U.S., the Institute for Supply Management was to release a report on manufacturing activity.