by Associated Press Asia stocks down as anti-austerity party wins Greek election by YOUKYUNG LEE, Associated Press - 25 January 2015 22:40-05:00 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Asian stocks and the euro were weaker Monday after Greece's anti-austerity opposition party won a big victory in national elections, renewing fears the European common currency bloc could unravel. KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.6 percent to 17,402.97 and South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2 percent at 1,935.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent to 24,783.09. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.8 percent to 3,325.80. The euro was down 0.4 percent at $1.116, its lowest since April 2003. Wall Street futures were sharply lower. Dow futures dropped 0.7 percent to 17,469 and S&P 500 futures fell 0.6 percent to 2,031.80. GREEK ELECTION: Syriza party, the left-wing party vowing to end Greece's painful austerity policies, won a historic victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Alexis Tsipras, the party leader, promised to end "humiliation and pain" that Greece has endured since a 2010 international bailout imposed harsh spending cuts, setting up a showdown with the country's international creditors that could shake the eurozone. The nearly completed vote count shows Syriza close to an outright majority. ANALYST'S TAKE: "Doubts over whether the EU bailout program will be extended should keep Greek bonds and the euro under pressure," said Chang Wei Liang at Mizuho Bank in a commentary. Within Europe, "Syriza's victory could signal a broadening shift of support away from mainstream political parties toward economic populism, and might lead to more active political pressure to pare back austerity measures within Spain and Italy as well." ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 45 cents to $45.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 72 cents to settle at $45.59 on Friday. The price of oil has fluctuated since the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah late last week. Analysts said the king's death is unlikely to change Saudi's oil production levels, a key factor in the global prices, but it has created a small amount of additional uncertainty that has unsettled markets. Brent crude was up 40 cents to $48.39 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 117.62 yen from 117.80 yen late Friday. News Topics: Business, General news, Stock prices, Currency markets, South Korean won, Japanese yen, Parliamentary elections, Euro, Oil and gas industry, Brent crude markets, Crude oil markets, National elections, Stock markets, Political parties, Financial markets, Leading economic indicators, Economy, Elections, Government and politics, Energy industry, Industries, Energy markets, Commodity markets, Political organizations People, Places and Companies: Greece, South Korea, East Asia, Western Europe, Europe, Asia Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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