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LONDON – Concerns that Europe's debt crisis could drag down parts of thecontinent's banking system rattled most global markets Friday,though social network Facebook's IPO buoyed sentiment on WallStreet. Ratings agency Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks late Thursday,three days after downgrading 26 Italian lenders, noting they arevulnerable to huge losses on government debt. In Spain's case, the lenders are also exposed to tens of billionsof euros (dollars) in soured investments in the country's implodedreal estate market. Their bad loans have hit an 18-year high,according to new figures compiled by the Bank of Spain. Worries over Spain were reignited in the past two weeks by theprospect that Greece might leave the 17-country euro union.Anti-bailout political parties made huge gains in general electionson May 6, though that ballot proved inconclusive. Another electionwill be held on June 17, and the radical left party Syriza isforecast to make gains, possibly becoming the biggest party. Syriza rejects the international bailout — and the relatedausterity measures — that the former government negotiated. 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. Fitch ratings agency downgraded Greece to the lowest possible gradefor a country not in default on Thursday, noting that if the nextelections do not produce a government that supports the bailout,Greece's exit from the eurozone "would be probable." By midafternoon in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7 percent to5,300.10 while Germany's DAX dropped 0.1 percent to 6,302.44 andFrance's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent to 3,017.15. Spain's main stock index recovered 0.2 percent from heavy losses onThursday, thanks mainly to a bounce back in the shares ofstate-controlled lender Bankia, which had plummeted on Thursday onreports of an increase in deposit withdrawals. They rose 24 percenton Friday, more than making up for a 14 percent drop the previousday. Wall Street opened higher on Friday, with shares of social mediagiant Facebook due to start trading at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Thecompany priced its IPO at $38 per share, at the top ofexpectations, and buyer demand is expected to be strong. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.2 percent to 12,464.48and the S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 1,308.46. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 3 percent to close at 8,611.31,its lowest finish in four months as signs of weakness in the U.S.,a critical export market for Japanese companies, battered some ofthe country's behemoth manufacturers. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.3 percent to 18,951.85 andAustralia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 2.7 percent to 4,046.50. SouthKorea's Kospi tumbled 3.4 percent to 1,782.46. Benchmarks inSingapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also fell. Mainland Chinese shares lost ground, with the benchmark ShanghaiComposite Index losing 1.4 percent to 2,344.52. The ShenzhenComposite Index fell 1.5 percent to 940.91. Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 77 cents to $91.79 abarrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The contract fell 25 cents to settle at $92.56 in New York onThursday. In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2711 from $1.2714 late Thursdayin New York. The dollar rose slightly to 79.32 yen from 79.28 yen. ___ Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed tothis report. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Inflatable Zorb Ball , Inflatable Boat Toys for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Outdoor Inflatable Water Slides.
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