All the latest economic and financial news, as Tokyo joins the global selloff and the oil price dips again.Nikkei falls by 3%US crude drops below $50/barrel Coming up: European service sector data 8.11am GMT It was also a bad day for Australian investors, as Greece’s upcoming general election and fears over the global economy hit sentiment in Sydney.Energy stocks were pummelled, and the big miners and banks fell hard as the leading ASX 200 index ended down 1.6% at 5364.8. 7.59am GMT Stock markets in the Middle East continue to be hit by the falling oil price, with the Dubai exchange tumbling another 5% today.Arab bourses battered again as oil slides http://t.co/2lAKNXHxEM pic.twitter.com/8AmiucDCdB 7.51am GMT Oil is taking another pummelling this morning, hitting fresh five and a half-year lows.Brent crude has shed another 1%, or 57 cents per barrel, to 52.5% in early trading and US crude is down a similar amount at $49.49 per barrel.North Sea Brent breaking to new lows. pic.twitter.com/XbADjgn4oS 7.45am GMT Japan’s stock market has suffered its biggest one-day fall in 10 months, as fears over Greece’s future in the eurozone hit Asian markets.Nikkei playing follower the leader closes down just over 3%. Yen 118.98With oil prices at their lowest since spring 2009, the Tokyo Stock Exchange sub-index of oil and mining shares tumbled 5.5%. Inpex Corp shed 5.8%.Exporters’ shares suffered from a stronger yen, which broke through the 119 level versus the dollar late in the session. Nissan lost 4.4% and Panasonic Corp slipped 3.1%.not a single Nikkei 225 stock rose in Japan today. But a dozen risers on the JPX 400, suggesting this was the usual global macro dumpThe unwind in equities has continued with markets mostly risk-off on flaring oil and Greece concerns. As oil prices venture to levels not seen in over five years, the energy space is predictably the hardest hit, seeing indiscriminate selling across the board. 7.34am GMT Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the financial markets, the global economy, the eurozone, and business.World markets continue to be gripped by fears over Greece’s political uncertainty, and by the sliding oil price.OIL WTI .. starting to get a kicking again trading at $49.50Today’s economic data is likely to reinforce the weakness at play in the euro area with the latest services PMI data for December for Spain, Italy, Germany and France.While Spain and Germany are likely to continue to remain resilient with readings significantly above 50 the current poor relations in Europe of France and Italy continue to underwhelm. Continue reading...
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