Asian stock markets fell Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve's chief warned the U.S. economy would continue to struggle. Losses were modest across the region in line with a lackluster session on Wall Street. The dollar resumed its slide against the yen, euro and other currencies after climbing in recent days amid hopes the U.S. might stage a quicker-than-expected rebound.
On Monday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the world's largest economy was facing "formidable headwinds" _ including a weak job market, cautious consumers and tight credit _ that would limit the pace of recovery. He also reaffirmed his pledge to keep interest rates at record lows for an "extended period," dousing expectations the Fed might hike rates sooner than thought after a jobs report last week showed the unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent.
The world's No. 2 economy grew for the second straight quarter in the July-September period, but falling prices have raised concerns about a cycle of deflation that could hinder the country's rebound.
The Nikkei 225 stock average fell 27.13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,140.47. In greater China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 139.11 points, or 0.6 percent, to 22,185.85, and Shanghai's market lost 0.8 percent to 3,304.88. Elsewhere, markets in Australia, Taiwan and Thailand fell about 0.1 percent. Bucking the downward move, South Korea's key stock measure rose 0.7 percent to 1,625.87 and India's Sensex was up 0.5 percent to 17,061.11. Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.21, or less than 0.1 percent, to 10,390.11 after being up 54 points and down 29 points.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.73, or 0.3 percent, to 1,103.25. It's up 22.1 percent for the year. U.S. futures pointed to a slightly higher open Tuesday. Dow futures were up 14, or 0.1 percent, to 10,405.
In oil, benchmark crude for January delivery was up 31 cents to $74.24 in Asia. The contract fell $1.54 to settle at $73.93 on Monday. The dollar declined to 89.03 yen from 89.49 yen. The euro was slightly higher at $1.4838 from $1.4820.
Source: Yahoo
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