Oil fell for a fourth day, the euro weakened and U.S. equity futures slid after Greek bondholders said they’ve made their maximum offer in negotiations to prevent the country from defaulting.
Oil lost 0.7 percent to $97.63 a barrel as of 4:09 p.m. in Tokyo. The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.2899. Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures were little changed, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slumped 0.4 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares rose less than 0.1 percent, led by telephone companies and financials. Silver advanced to a six-week high and wheat and corn futures climbed at least 0.6 percent. Bond risk in Japan slid to the lowest level in almost three months.
Markets including China, South Korea and Taiwan were shut today for the Lunar New Year holiday. Bondholders are leaving it to the European Union and International Monetary Fund to decide whether to accept a deal on Greece’s debt, said Charles Dallara, managing director of the Institute of International Finance and representative for the private creditors. EU leaders will meet in Brussels today to discuss budget rules, a financial firewall to protect indebted states and a ban on imports of Iranian oil.
“The market could come under short-term pressure as it’s had a strong run this year,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based senior strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which manages nearly $100 billion. “Greece defaulting is still a possibility.”
