Asian stock markets retreat amid concerns about Greece’s debt woes; Nikkei off nearly 2 pct

Asian markets fall amid Greece debt worries

HONG KONG — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Thursday after a mediocre finish on Wall Street, as more worries about Greece’s debt crisis eroded confidence in a world recovery. European stocks edged up in early trade.

Major Asian markets sank as much as 2 percent after ending the previous session up, though recouped some of their losses later in the day. Oil prices were trading near $84 a barrel, while the dollar weakened against the yen and the euro.

Losses across Asia followed a lackluster day in U.S. markets, where strong earnings results from big names like Apple Inc. and Boeing Co. weren’t enough to drive the entire market ahead.

Investors grew more cautious after Greece’s borrowing costs jumped to record highs Wednesday as the government began crucial talks on the details of a rescue package orchestrated by the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. The country’s debt woes have raised fears of a contagion and dragged Europe’s shared currency sharply lower in recent months.

“The situation deteriorated overnight, and it’s quite negative for sentiment,” said Tim Condon, head of Asia research for ING Financial Markets in Singapore. “Underlying is this anxiety about what’s going to happen in Greece. The IMF program is not the silver bullet people expected and hoped for, and the downside could be very steep.”

Early in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 added 0.5 percent. Wall Street futures augured a modestly stronger open in the U.S. Thursday.

Leading Asia’s decline was Japan, where the Nikkei 225 stock index dropped 140.96 points, or 1.3 percent, to 10,949.09. News that the nation’s exports expanded for a fourth straight month in March did little to lure buyers to the market.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s main stock index shed 0.3 percent to 21,454.94 and South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5 percent to 1,739.52. China’s Shanghai index retreated 1.1 percent to 2,999.48.

Several technology companies bucked the move lower. Hon Hai precision, a major contractor for Apple and other global tech companies, rose 2.2 percent in Taiwan’s market. South Korean chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor added 0.5 percent.

Markets in Australia and Taiwan also sputtered lower.

In currencies, the dollar was changing hands at 93.11 yen, down from 93.15 the previous day, while the euro was at $1.3413 from $1.3383.

Oil prices rose toward the end of the session in Asia, with the benchmark contract up 11 cents at $83.79. The contract gave up 17 cents overnight.

On Wednesday, the Dow rose 7.86, or 0.1 percent, to 11,124.92, its third straight advance. The Dow has risen nine of the past 10 days.

However, the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 1.23, or 0.1 percent, to 1,205.94.