* Irish debt crisis puts euro under pressure
* Asian stocks fall, following Wall Street decline
* Gold, oil steady
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The euro, stocks and
commodities fell on Tuesday as a bailout for debt-soaked
Ireland failed to allay fears of a wider euro zone crisis,
prompting investors to seek safety in the U.S. dollar and
Treasuries.
The euro had initially spiked on Monday on news of a
European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout for
Ireland, where a property bust has pushed the nation's banks
to the brink of collapse and blown a hole in the public
finances.
But it swiftly reversed course as the coalition government
in Dublin, deeply unpopular after presiding over the implosion
of an economy dubbed the "Celtic Tiger" for its double-digit
growth in the late 1990s, looked to be facing a struggle to
pass an austerity budget that is a condition of the aid.
The single currency dived back below $1.36 on Tuesday as
the Irish turmoil stoked fears that a crisis that has already
engulfed Greece will spread to other indebted euro zone
nations, with Portugal and Spain in nervous bond investors'
sights.
"They've addressed the Greek problem, they're addressing
the Irish problem, people are now questioning where is the
next one ... the political turmoil in Ireland also doesn't
help," said Grant Turley, strategist at ANZ in Sydney.
Asian stock markets fell, following declines on Wall Street
the previous day, with MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares
outside Japan shedding 1.2 percent. Tokyo
markets were closed for a holiday.
The biggest stock market falls were in Hong Kong
and Shanghai , down 1.7 percent and 2.3 percent
respectively. Moves by the authorities to cool the property
market continued to weigh in Hong Kong, where the property
sub-index fell 2.6 percent.
On Monday U.S. financial stocks had slid on fears of
exposure to Europe's debt woes and concerns about a broad
insider trading probe. The KBW bank index fell 1.5
percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co fell 2.3 percent.
DOWNSIDE RISK
The euro traded around $1.3575, having fallen as
low as $1.3551 to surpass Monday's session trough of $1.3574.
The single currency had risen as high as $1.3786 on Monday.
"The fact that sentiment turned so quickly, that the Irish
government is heading towards an election and that Moody's
talked about downgrading Ireland are all not helping," said
Greg Gibbs, strategist at RBS.
"It reveals a lack of underlying demand for European
sovereign and financial assets and point to the downside risk
for the euro."
Against the yen, the euro slipped to around 113.10
from two-week highs near 115.0 yen.
The dollar rose 0.2 percent against a basket of currencies
and bought 83.35 yen , down a little from
Monday's high.
A stronger dollar often weighs on commodity markets,
making assets priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for
holders of other currencies.
U.S. crude oil futures lost 34 cents, or around 0.4
percent, to trade at $81.40 a barrel, and gold and copper were
also weaker.
U.S. Treasuries, traditionally regarded by investors as
the safest of asset, remained in demand, with the yield on the
benchmark 10-year note creeping lower.
(To read Reuters Global Investing Blog click on
http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting; for the MacroScope
Blog click on http://blogs.reuters.com/macroscope; for Hedge
Fund Blog Hub click on http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub)
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
