Investing.com - Asian stocks traded mixed to lower on Monday as investors sought safety in the yen and the dollar ahead of an E.U. summit later this week, when policymakers will address Greece's progress towards fiscal health.
Fears that U.S. third-quarter earnings will disappoint offset Chinese inflation data, which met expectations.
During Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.12%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.02%.
European Union policymakers will hold an Oct. 18-19 summit in Brussels to discuss Greece's steps towards restoring fiscal health as well as ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis, especially in Spain.
Greece has requested a two-year extension to meet deficit targets.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding Spain's plans to request a bailout or not made the dollar even more attractive, which sent stocks dipping.
Last week, Standard & Poor's said it lowered Spain's long-term credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and cut its short-term credit rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'.
The ratings agency said Spain's deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government's policy options and added that rising unemployment and spending constraints are likely to fuel social discontent and contribute to friction between Spain's central and regional governments.
"In our view, the capacity of Spain's political institutions (both domestic and multilateral) to deal with the severe challenges posed by the current economic and financial crisis is declining," Standard & Poor's said in a statement.
The news prompted many investors to interpret the downgrade as a tipping point pushing Madrid closer to requesting financial aid from its neighbors.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt in the secondary market, which would lower borrowing costs in the crisis-weary country, yet Madrid has yet to seek assistance, which continued to push stock prices down on Monday.
Investors also stocked up on dollar positions on Monday as part of a wait-and-see trading session ahead of a flurry of data due out of the U.S. this week, including reports on retail sales, manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims and housing starts, among others.
Earnings season is under way in the U.S. as well, and investors stayed in safe-haven dollar positions ahead of time.
Meanwhile in China, the country's consumer price index rose 1.9% in September compared with a year earlier, while the country's producer price index fell 3.6%, in line with expectations.
Hong Kong, top decliners included Power Assets, down 1.35%, Tencent, down 1.28%, and China Resources Power, down 1.19%.
In Australia, top decliners included Resolute Mining, down 6.81%, Aquarius Platinum, down 6.45%, and Alacer Gold, down 5.69%.
European stock futures indicated a lower opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.21%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a loss of 0.22%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures were down 0.18%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.16% while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.18%.
On Monday, the U.S. is to produce official data on retail sales, an indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.
In addition, the U.S. is to release data on manufacturing activity in New York state, as well as official data on business inventories.
Fears that U.S. third-quarter earnings will disappoint offset Chinese inflation data, which met expectations.
During Asian trading on Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.12%, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 0.15%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index was up 0.02%.
European Union policymakers will hold an Oct. 18-19 summit in Brussels to discuss Greece's steps towards restoring fiscal health as well as ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis, especially in Spain.
Greece has requested a two-year extension to meet deficit targets.
Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding Spain's plans to request a bailout or not made the dollar even more attractive, which sent stocks dipping.
Last week, Standard & Poor's said it lowered Spain's long-term credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB+' and cut its short-term credit rating to 'A-3' from 'A-2'.
The ratings agency said Spain's deepening economic recession is limiting the Spanish government's policy options and added that rising unemployment and spending constraints are likely to fuel social discontent and contribute to friction between Spain's central and regional governments.
"In our view, the capacity of Spain's political institutions (both domestic and multilateral) to deal with the severe challenges posed by the current economic and financial crisis is declining," Standard & Poor's said in a statement.
The news prompted many investors to interpret the downgrade as a tipping point pushing Madrid closer to requesting financial aid from its neighbors.
A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt in the secondary market, which would lower borrowing costs in the crisis-weary country, yet Madrid has yet to seek assistance, which continued to push stock prices down on Monday.
Investors also stocked up on dollar positions on Monday as part of a wait-and-see trading session ahead of a flurry of data due out of the U.S. this week, including reports on retail sales, manufacturing activity, initial jobless claims and housing starts, among others.
Earnings season is under way in the U.S. as well, and investors stayed in safe-haven dollar positions ahead of time.
Meanwhile in China, the country's consumer price index rose 1.9% in September compared with a year earlier, while the country's producer price index fell 3.6%, in line with expectations.
Hong Kong, top decliners included Power Assets, down 1.35%, Tencent, down 1.28%, and China Resources Power, down 1.19%.
In Australia, top decliners included Resolute Mining, down 6.81%, Aquarius Platinum, down 6.45%, and Alacer Gold, down 5.69%.
European stock futures indicated a lower opening.
France's CAC 40 futures pointed to a loss of 0.21%, while Germany's DAX 30 futures pointed to a loss of 0.22%. Meanwhile in the U.K., FTSE 100 futures were down 0.18%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.16% while the S&P 500 futures were down 0.18%.
On Monday, the U.S. is to produce official data on retail sales, an indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.
In addition, the U.S. is to release data on manufacturing activity in New York state, as well as official data on business inventories.