Asian markets fall on US “fiscal cliff” struggle

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Asian bourses traded lower today weighed by the never ending "fiscal cliff" discussion in the US, now with Republicans' "Plan B" vote being cancelled at the last minute. "The failure of even this watered-down proposal (to extend the Bush tax cuts to all but those earning above $1m, vs Obama's $250k) to get the full backing of all Republicans is a further blow to those hoping that US politicians will reach some sort of compromise before year-end", wrote TD Securities analysts.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average (-1.00%), Mainland China's Shanghai Composite (-0.62%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.80%), South Korea's Kospi (-0.95%), all took a dive and closed lower on Friday.

Futures for the German DAX 30 (-0.45%) and the French CAC 40 (-0.40%) are signaling a lower opening ahead of the European session and a pretty empty economic calendar besides of US durable goods and Chicago Fed manufacturing. The German GfK consumer confidence eased from 5.8 to 5.6 in January, disappointing expectations of 5.9.