Global Markets: Asian shares weak

Asian shares tracked Wall Street lower on Thursday as weak forecasts from U.S. corporate bellwethers underscored concern over global demand, particularly from China, and kept oil and other commodity prices under pressure.

A warning from Chevron Corp over its third-quarter results followed an Alcoa's outlook for dwindling aluminum consumption, with both shares falling more than 4 percent and dragging the S&P 500 to its fourth straight loss overnight.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 percent, with the materials sub-index shedding 0.8 percent.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell 0.6 percent.

The euro was the backfoot due to uncertainty over Spain's bailout prospects, with S&P's two-notch sovereign downgrade of Spain dampening the mood further.

The International Monetary Fund said this week that the euro area's debt crisis was a key threat and the risks to global financial stability had risen in the last six months, leaving confidence very fragile.

The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.2856, just above its lowest since Oct. 1 of $1.2835 hit on Wednesday.

With U.S. stocks falling, and IMF and World Bank raising alarms about the Chinese growth slowdown, market sentiment is against risk - and growth-sensitive or high- yielding currencies are prone to downside risks, said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo.

A better-than-expected Australian employment report helped the Australian dollar recover some of its earlier commodities-led losses.

Oil prices steadied in early Asian trading after having fallen in volatile trading overnight. U.S. crude futures which fell over 1 percent were trading flat while Brent futures were up 0.2 percent.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,759.29 an ounce.

Investors will be watching the outcome of an informal meeting of the Group of Seven finance ministers in Tokyo on Thursday where the euro zone crisis, U.S. fiscal problems and a slowdown in economic growth in China and other emerging countries are expected to dominate the agenda.

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