Stocks in Asia and Europe are pointed firmly lower, following Wall Street's bearish lead
Stocks in Asia finished lower across the board today, tracking
Wall Street's bleak Thursday performance. Banks and property stocks were among the top decliners in China, while a strengthening yen pushed Tokyo-listed exporters into the red. By the close, Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2.2%, China's Shanghai Composite gave up 1.7%, South Korea's Kospi fell about 1%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng backpedaled 0.8%.
European stocks are also in the red, after
Thursday's easing measures from the European Central Bank (ECB) left many wanting more. Now, traders are looking anxiously ahead to today's U.S. jobs data, which should play a major role in the Fed's interest rate decision later this month. At last check, the German DAX is down 0.7%, France's CAC 40 has lost 0.6%, and London's FTSE 100 is 0.2% lower.
