Asian shares rebound but eyes on Dubai
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters): Asian stocks recovered after last week's steep sell-off over the Dubai debt crisis on growing speculation the fallout from a potential default will be limited, while assurances from various authorities also helped calm nerves.
European stock index futures pointed to a higher open, futures for the Eurostoxx 50, German DAX and French CAC gaining 0.3-0.4 per cent.
Banking shares, which bore the brunt of the selling Friday on worries about banks' exposure to Dubai World and property group Nakheel, were at the forefront of Monday's rebound in Asia.
"I think it's going to be okay. At the end of the day Dubai and Abu Dhabi need each other. And there will be a lot of pressure on Abu Dhabi to step in, from the neighbouring countries," Templeton Asset Management fund manager Mark Mobius told the news agency.
Hong Kong shares, which posted their biggest single day loss in eight months Friday, and stocks in Japan, which ended last week at a four-month low, were among the strongest performers in the region Monday.
In South Korea, the government pledged it will stay vigilant while a top Indonesian central banker said there would be no fallout from Dubai's debt problems on Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
South Korean markets have been especially sensitive to international financial instability mainly because the highly leveraged local banking system is heavily exposed to the global credit market situation.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan rose 2.8 per cent while the index of regional shares was 2.6 per cent higher.
Reflecting some of the calm, US stock futures are up 0.4 per cent pointing to a firm start at Wall Street, which had already started showing some signs of a recovery Friday having erased some of the losses toward close.
European stock index futures pointed to a higher open, futures for the Eurostoxx 50, German DAX and French CAC gaining 0.3-0.4 per cent.
Banking shares, which bore the brunt of the selling Friday on worries about banks' exposure to Dubai World and property group Nakheel, were at the forefront of Monday's rebound in Asia.
"I think it's going to be okay. At the end of the day Dubai and Abu Dhabi need each other. And there will be a lot of pressure on Abu Dhabi to step in, from the neighbouring countries," Templeton Asset Management fund manager Mark Mobius told the news agency.
Hong Kong shares, which posted their biggest single day loss in eight months Friday, and stocks in Japan, which ended last week at a four-month low, were among the strongest performers in the region Monday.
In South Korea, the government pledged it will stay vigilant while a top Indonesian central banker said there would be no fallout from Dubai's debt problems on Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
South Korean markets have been especially sensitive to international financial instability mainly because the highly leveraged local banking system is heavily exposed to the global credit market situation.
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan rose 2.8 per cent while the index of regional shares was 2.6 per cent higher.
Reflecting some of the calm, US stock futures are up 0.4 per cent pointing to a firm start at Wall Street, which had already started showing some signs of a recovery Friday having erased some of the losses toward close.