Asian Stocks Fall; Greece Bailout Concerns
NEW YORK (
) -- Asian stocks ended mostly lower Thursday after debt-laden Greece said it might have to seek funding from the International Monetary Fund if European countries don't come to its aid.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average closed down by almost 1% to 10,744.03. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite declined 0.3%.
An unidentified senior Greek official told
Dow Jones
the government didn't think it would receive help from EU partners at a summit next week.
"We still want a solution within the European Union, but it doesn't look good," the official told
Dow Jones
. "If there is no clear support at the EU summit on March 25, we will have to decide where to go next."
The official said the "most prominent" scenario would be Greece seeking aid from the IMF.
The euro weakened on the news.
Premarket futures suggested stocks would open lower on Wall Street Thursday, a day after U.S. stocks rose for a seventh-straight day.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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