Asian markets down on US, Europe job worries

The KL Composite Index kept above a critical support level, despite a momentary slip at the opening bell after a sharp plunge on Wall Street overnight rattled nervy investors across the region.
In overseas market, shares were down at least 1% in Japan, Australia and Singapore.
Analysts said the worsening job markets in the US and Europe had fanned doubt about the pace of the global economic recovery. Commodity prices dropped, with crude oil at US$66.50 per barrel in Asian trading hours of Friday.
On Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI dropped 4.61 points, or 0.4% to 1,074.10 points as at Friday’s lunch break. The index hit a low of 1,067.84 points earlier.
Market turnover was a modest 558 million shares worth RM375mil.
A break below 1,070 points for the KLCI “would be negative,’’ CIMB Research said in its technical reading update on the market this morning.
The local benchmark had been trading sideways since June 26, keeping a tight 12-points range with the 1,070 points level as a floor.
HwangDBS Vickers this morning said it sees the KLCI sinking below its first support level of 1,070 and possibly heads towards 1,050 thereafter.
“If investors have been waiting for fresh leads to surface,’’ it said, then the rising unemployment in the US numbers released overnight would be the trigger “to prompt them to take profit today.’’
Advancing shares in Tenaga Nasional and Maybank helped cushion the local benchmark fall, but the market breadth was negative with 299 decliners outnumbering 131 advancing issues, while 194 counters were flat.
Crude palm oil on Bursa Derivatives hit a three-month low, with the most active futures contract down as much as 2.4%. It hovered at RM2,142 per tonne at midday, down RM33 from the previous day’s close.
The ringgit was down against the US dollar at 3.5245.
In overseas markets, shares in Hong Kong fell 0.5% to 18,906 points but bourses in mainland China were up. Most Asian bourses opened for trade on Friday posted declines, except those in Pakistan, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
US stocks’ main indices slumped more than 2% overnight.