ASIA-Shares to fall on euro debt contagion fears

WELLINGTON: Asian stocks are set to fall on Tuesday amid concern about the stalemate on the U.S. budget and rekindled fears that the euro zone's debt woes are about to spread to Italy, triggering demand for safer assets such as debt.

Italy, the third largest economy in the euro zone, has emerged as the latest concern. It has the second-highest debt to GDP ratio in the group after Greece, giving rise to fears of a spreading contagion and prompting a meeting of top officials.

U.S. stocks, already rattled by Friday's weak jobs report, suffered their worst day in nearly a month following the Italy news, along with concern about the stalemate in U.S. budget talks.

The main Wall Street indices closed between 1.2 percent and 2 percent lower. The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, Wall Street's barometer of investor anxiety, spiked 15.3 percent.

One bright spot after the close of the market was the report of aluminium maker, Alcoa Inc , often viewed as a bellwether of the U.S. economy, which posted a big jump in second-quarter profit.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street fell 2 percent, with global stocks as measured by the MSCI world equity index also down 2 percent to the lowest level in a week.

British stocks were down 1 percent and European shares fell 1.5 percent to a near-two week low.

The flight to safety saw the U.S. dollar rise more than 1 percent against a basket of currencies , with the euro being knocked 1.8 percent lower.

Japanese markets, which fell on profit-taking on Monday, are seen dipping back below the 10,000 level amid the move to safety and caution ahead of the earnings season. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were 150 points below the last closing level in Osaka.

Australian stocks will also likely fall, with share price index futures are down 0.9 percent, a 61.3 point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. – Reuters