Europe Stock Futures Drop as Asian Shares Pare Gains on Cyprus

Europe Stock Futures Drop as Asian Shares Pare Gains on Cyprus
By Jason Clenfield & Adam Haigh - Mar 19, 2013 3:08 PM GMT+0800

European equity futures fell, Asian stocks pared gains and metals declined after a report suggested Cyprus’s parliament won’t approve a tax on bank deposits needed to secure a bailout.
Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures dropped 0.3 percent as of 7:03 a.m. in London, while contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index erased a 0.3 percent advance. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) was up 0.4 percent, after climbing as much as 0.8 percent. Copper and nickel dropped 0.4 percent. The euro was little changed versus the dollar, while the yen weakened 0.4 percent.
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Share price information is displayed on an electronic ticker in the main atrium of the London Stock Exchange Group Plc's (LSE) headquarters in London. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Cyprus’s parliament probably won’t pass a law taxing deposits that has prompted banking turmoil, missing a condition for an international bailout, Reuters reported, citing government spokesman Christos Stylianides. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa steps down today, making way for Haruhiko Kuroda, who has pledged to do whatever it takes to end deflation. The U.S. Federal Reserve starts a two-day policy meeting today.
With Cypriot lawmakers voting today on how to spread the burden among account-holders and the proposed bank tax roiling markets, the U.S. called for a “responsible and fair” resolution to the financial crisis in Cyprus, the fifth euro country to seek a bailout since 2010.
More than three shares rose for every two that fell on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which yesterday tumbled 1.9 percent from a 20-month high after euro-area finance ministers came up with their bailout plan for Cyprus. The gauge traded at 14.6 times average estimated earnings yesterday compared with 14 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and a multiple of 12.8 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) closed 2 percent higher, before the report on Cyprus’s vote today. The gauge, which fell 2.7 yesterday, is within 1 percent of a four-year high reached last week. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]; Adam Haigh in Sydney at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Regan at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]