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Asia stocks drop on eurozone worries
Asian stocks dropped Monday, ignoring signs of job improvement in the U.S., as traders continued to fret about Europe’s unfolding sovereign debt drama.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.2 percent to 1,821.31 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.7 percent lower at 18,463.81. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also were lower. Mainland Chinese shares rose. In Japan, financial markets were closed for a public holiday.
The U.S. unemployment rate fell in December to 8.5 percent, the lowest level in nearly three years. But signs of strength in the U.S. job market were not enough to offset worries about Europe’s debt problems.
On Friday, Italy’s borrowing costs spiked to dangerously high levels and the euro fell to a 16-month low against the dollar at $1.2696.
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