Asian equities decline on Greek concern

Asian equities declined on Monday in morning trade amid speculation Greece may be nearing a default on its sovereign debt, stoking fears that the crisis will spread to the banking system.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.7% to 119 at 10:40 a.m. in Tokyo. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 3.3%. Markets in China, South Koreaand Taiwan are closed today for holidays.

Raw-material producers and consumer discretionary shares were the worst performers among the 10 industry groups on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, dropping at least 1.7%. Financial stocks offered the biggest drags on the Asia Pacific measure.

In company news, Commonwealth Bank of Australia retreated 3.3%. Toyota Motor declined 2.4% in Tokyo. HSBC Holdings lost 4.4% in Hong Kong. BHP Billiton sank 2.9% in Sydney after oil and metal prices dropped. Cochlear tumbled 22% after the company announced a product recall.

In the US and Europe, investors this week will be focused on a raft of economic data for further indications.

Manufacturing surveys by the Philadelphia and New York Federal Reserve districts are published on Thursday. Overall US industrial production for August, also published on Thursday, is expected to affirm the weak survey readings for that month. After increasing 0.9% in July, production is expected to have risen just 0.1% in August.

Inflation data from the UK, US and the eurozone are all likely to signal that price pressures are easing as waning consumer confidence leads to slowing retail sales.

US retail sales for August, released on Wednesday, are predicted to have increased 0.2%. In the UK, the latest jobs figures are likely to show the claimant count rate moved up to 5% in August from 4.9% in July, while the overall unemployment rate remained at 7.9% in July.