European stocks slated for another fall Aug. 19

PanARMENIAN.Net - European stocks are slated for another fall on Friday, August 19, after Asian stocks slumped on growing fears the U.S. economy was sliding into recession and as some European lenders faced short-term funding strains, raising fears of a systemic banking crisis on the continent.

European shares were expected to extend Thursday's steep losses when they suffered their biggest daily slide in 2- years, with key indexes in Britain, France and Germany set to open as much as 1 percent lower.

The FTSEurofirst index has already lost 15 pct this month, on track for its worst monthly loss since at least 1997.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.8 percent in Asia, pointing to more losses for battered Western markets later in the day.

Spot gold rose more than 1 percent to an all-time high of $1,844.55 an ounce, before easing to $1,841.94 by 1:30 a.m. EDT. The gains put it on track to a 5.6 percent weekly rise, its seventh gain in a row and the largest since February 2009.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 3.4 percent, taking its losses this month to nearly 14 percent.

"(The U.S. data) presents the worst combination for an economy, i.e. slower growth but higher inflation, that impacted quite negatively sentiment in Asia trading hours," Frances Cheung, strategist at Credit Agricole said. "Worse still, we also have some funding squeeze coming from Europe and also across a number of Asian markets."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.1 percent for a third day of declines, while Korea's KOSPI tumbling over 6 percent and Taiwan down almost 4 percent, suggesting the pressure was more on markets with a higher exposure to technology.

Several global industry heavyweights such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and LG Electronics have cut sales forecasts this week as the outlook for corporate, government and consumer tech spending dims, Reuters reported.