* Disappointing US job data, Hungary debt spark fresh
selling
* Euro drops to lowest in over 4-year as investors shun
risk
* Asian stock markets slump over 3 percent
* U.S. dollar rallies, further pressuring commodities
* Oil falls under $70
(Repeats to more subscribers)
SYDNEY, June 7 (Reuters) - The euro skidded to four-year
lows on Monday and stocks and commodities tumbled after
disappointing U.S. job data cast doubt on the strength of its
economic recovery and as Hungary's debt problems spurred
investors to dump riskier assets.
* The euro <EUR=> fell below $1.1900 in early Asian trade
on worries that Hungary will become the next casualty in
Europe's growing debt crisis. At one point it was down over 0.9
percent from levels seen late in New York on Friday.
* Some stop-loss selling around $1.1950 aggravated the
slide. Traders said more aggressive stop-loss selling may be
had if euro falls under $1.1850.
* Against the yen, euro <EURJPY=> skidded below 108.33 yen
to its lowest in over eight years.
* Riskier bets were cut across the board. Japan's Nikkei
index <> and the MSCI index for Asian stocks outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> both fell 3.6 percent.
* S&P futures <SPc1> were down 1 percent, pointing to
further losses on Wall Street later in the day, after U.S.
stocks fell on Friday to their lowest since February. []
* Australian dollar <AUD=D4> and South Korean won, both of
which extremely vulnerable to turns in demand for risk, also
slugged.
* The Australian dollar struggled at $0.8118. The won
<KRW=KFTC> fell to a two-week low at 1,237.4/8.6 per dollar.
* Assets with safe-haven appeal benefitted from the rout
from risk. Investors sought safety in the liquidity of U.S.
Treasuries, further adding to demand for the U.S. dollar.
* The U.S. dollar index <.DXY> hit a 15-month high of 88.7.
* A firmer U.S. dollar fuelled pressures on commodity
prices. Oil <CLc1> dropped nearly 2 percent and Shanghai copper
<SCFc3>, zinc <SZNc3> and aluminium futures <SAFc3> sunk across
the board. []
* Investors who want to play it safe and sell risky bets
did not have to look far for reasons.
* U.S. economic data showed on Friday that the recovery in
the labour market was not as strong as hoped, with hiring by
U.S. private employers slowing sharply in May. []
* Although some analysts said cautious hiring plans of U.S.
firms did not herald another recession in the U.S. economy, the
world's largest, stock investors paid no heed. Major U.S. stock
indexes fell by up to 3.6 percent.
* Remarks from Hungary's government on Friday that Hungary
may suffer a possible Greek-style debt crisis further walloped
already fragile investor confidence.
* Even though Hungary's economic fundamentals are far
better than Greece's, nervous investors still took fright from
the comments.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Kim Coghill)
