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Euro Weakens and Stocks Fall in Asia After Election in Greece Euro Weakens and Stocks Fall in Asia After Election in Greece
(about 3 hours later)
HONG KONG — The euro weakened to 11-year lows and stocks fell across Asia on Monday as investors reacted to Sunday’s Greek parliamentary elections, which handed a decisive victory to the left-wing Syriza party. PARIS — Financial markets on Monday took in stride the result of Greek parliamentary elections, which handed a decisive victory to the left-wing Syriza party a day earlier.
Syriza and its outspoken leader, Alexis Tsipras, had campaigned against the austerity measures imposed on Greece by its international creditors. With 98 percent of the vote counted, Syriza had 36 percent, almost nine points ahead of the governing center-right New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who had conceded defeat. The only uncertainty was whether Syriza would muster an outright parliamentary majority or if it would have to form a coalition. Syriza and its outspoken leader, Alexis Tsipras, had campaigned against the austerity measures imposed on Greece by its international creditors. With nearly all of the votes counted, Syriza had 36.3 percent of votes, almost nine points ahead of the governing center-right New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who conceded defeat. Syriza fell two seats short of the 151 that it needed for an outright majority, and it was unclear which party Mr. Tsipras would team up with to form a coalition government.
The yield on 30-year United States Treasury securities fell to a record low on Monday as investors continued to flock to perceived haven assets. The euro briefly dropped as much as 0.9 percent against the dollar in Asian trading Monday morning, falling to its lowest levels since 2003, before recovering slightly. By early afternoon, the euro was down around 0.2 percent, at around 1.118 per dollar. The Euro Stoxx 50 index, a barometer of eurozone blue chips, was little changed in early trading on Monday, while the FTSE 100 index in London was down 0.3 percent. The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.1241.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225-share index was down around 0.4 percent by early afternoon in Tokyo, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 0.1 percent at the midday trading break. Markets in Australia were closed for a public holiday. Markets trembled initially, sending the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond in the United States to a record low in Asian hours, as investors moved funds to assets perceived as safer. The euro briefly dropped to as low as $1.1098, its lowest levels since 2003.
While polls last week showed Syriza was likely to win the elections, investors on Monday still appeared to be unsettled by the results. Markets around the world had rallied on Friday after Mario Draghi, the governor of the European Central Bank, announced a new government bond-buying program to stimulate growth in the eurozone. Derek Halpenny, the European head of global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London, said in a research note that he did not expect the change in Athens to create “existential risks” to the euro, or for strong euro-selling pressures to emerge in the short term. But he said that there were “certainly increased risks, and an error in the negotiating stage could mean this becomes a bigger negative for the market.”
Mr. Tsipras, who is now positioned to become the next prime minister, has pledged to keep Greece within the eurozone as he seeks to negotiate an easing of austerity measures and rebuild the economy. The country has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone, at 25.7 percent as of September, the most recent data available. Asian stocks were mixed, with major indexes in Tokyo falling about 0.3 percent, and Hong Kong shares rising to a similar degree. Trading in Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures indicated that stocks would be little changed at the opening bell in New York.
While polls last week showed Syriza was likely to win the elections, investors on Monday still appeared to be unsettled initially by the results. Most markets around the world had rallied on Friday after Mario Draghi, the governor of the European Central Bank, announced a new government bond-buying program to stimulate growth in the eurozone.
Mr. Tsipras, who is positioned to become the next prime minister, has pledged to keep Greece within the eurozone as he seeks to negotiate an easing of austerity measures and to rebuild the economy. The country has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone, at 25.7 percent as of September, the most recent data available.