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LONDON – Fears surrounding the stability of the 17-country eurozone —particularly the state of Spain's financial system and whetherGreece might be forced out of the single currency union —pushed global markets down again on Thursday. Greece has called another round of elections for June 17 after thelast one proved inconclusive and coalition talks to form agovernment fell apart. Greeks gave strong support to parties thatreject the country's international bailout and the tough austeritymeasures it comes with. But without that rescue package, Greece will likely default andhave to leave the eurozone. That would result in financial disasterfor Greece and send shockwaves through European markets,destabilizing other weak countries. As a result, the new elections are shaping up as a referendum onwhether Greeks want their country to stay in the eurozone or not. "The recent political paralysis has now brought Greece to whatcould prove to be the worst stage of its crisis," said AthanasiosVamvakidis, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "Althoughpolls in Greece show very strong support for the euro, we believethat the current situation could trigger a chain of events thatcould lead Greece to exit on its own." Adding to losses over the past two weeks, Britain's FTSE 100 closeddown 1.2 percent to 5,338.38 while Germany's DAX fell 1.2 percentto 6,308.96 and France's CAC-40 lost 1.2 percent to 3,011.99. Theeuro dropped 0.1 percent to $1.2707, close to the yearly lows lasthit in January. Spain's Ibex saw one of the sharpest drops, but recovered somewhatto close 0.9 percent lower, as investors fear the country would bethe most destabilized by a Greek exit from the euro. A local reportthat depositors were drawing money out of the country'sfourth-largest bank, Bankia, sent shares in the now-nationalizedlender down 14.1 percent and accelerated the Spanish bourse's fall. Spain's bond yields were also high, edging up to 6.29 percent forthe 10-year note, an indication investors are worried about thecountry's financial future. The concern is that if Spain has torescue any more of its banks, its government finances may beoverwhelmed, forcing it to take a bailout of its own. On Wall Street, stocks fell despite relatively upbeat economicindicators from the U.S. this week. The Dow Jones industrialaverage dropped 0.5 percent to 12,533.61 while the S&P 500 fell0.7 percent to 1,315.79. Concerns about Europe's crisis offset any cheer from a LaborDepartment report showing applications for U.S. unemploymentbenefits held steady last week, a sign layoffs are not increasing,and news that Wal-Mart's income rose more than expected in thefirst quarter. In Asia, markets enjoyed a slight rebound as investors wentbargain-hunting after better-than-expected growth figures for thefirst quarter in Japan. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 percent to close at 8,876.59 as thedollar fell 1.2 percent to 79.34 yen. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,845.24. Benchmarks inTaiwan, New Zealand and the Philippines also rose. Australia'sS&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,157.40 and Hong Kong'sHang Seng closed 0.3 percent down at 19,200.93. Mainland Chinese shares bounced back from early losses, buoyed bycalls from the country's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, formarket reforms. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent to2,378.89. The Shenzhen Composite Index also gained 1.4 percent to954.95. Shares in brokerages, financial and trading-relatedcompanies led the gains. Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 5 cents to $92.86 per barrelin electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. OnWednesday, the contract fell by $1.17 to finish at a seven-monthlow of $92.81 per barrel in New York. ___ Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed tothis report. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as One Touch Steam Tornado Manufacturer , China Kitchen Aid Grater for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Electric Food Chopper.
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