Stocks, Australian dollar falls as fears rock Asia

[link to www.theaustralian.com.au]

Excerpt:

THE stockmarket had plunged deep into the red by early afternoon and the Australian dollar had tumbled below US81 cents as investors reeled amid fears about the risks of slowdown in the global economy.

Markets in Asia were also not immune as investors sought shelter in the yen and the US dollar as well as government bonds in countries that were considered by financial markets to have little exposure to the Europe’s widening debt crisis.

The weakness in the Australian dollar was compounded by the sharp decline in the euro, which fell below $US1.19 in Asian trading today for the first time since March 2006 as the European sovereign debt troubles spread to Hungary.

The Australian dollar fell just below US81c in the morning session, taking its losses since Friday’s domestic close to as much as 4.3 per cent. Since mid-April the Australian dollar has slid by more than 13 per cent.


Australian stock market follows Wall Street down

[link to beta.thehindu.com]

Concerns over Hungary’s ability to repay its debts and disappointing jobs figures from the United States weighed on the Australian stock market at the opening bell Monday.

The ASX 200 slid 120 points, or 2.7 per cent, to 4,209.

The Australian dollar took a tumble too, with the local unit falling 2 cents at the opening to trade at 83 US cents.