Asian markets shut shop in red as Europe polls, US jobs weigh

Sentiments continued to remain bearish in the Asian region and all the Asian counters ended the day’s trade in the negative terrain on Monday after elections results in Greece and France heightened uncertainty about Europe’s ability to solve its debt crisis. Weekend election outcomes in Greece sent tremors throughout Europe as voters punished the parties responsible for highly unpopular austerity measures instituted to prevent the country from defaulting on its massive debts and exiting the euro currency. No political party won sufficient votes to form a government, raising the possibility of new elections within months and protracted uncertainty for global markets. Moreover, on Friday, weaker-than-expected US jobs data added to global risk aversion, raising concerns that the world's largest economy may be stalling in its path of recovery.

Meanwhile, Seoul shares ended at a three-month low with a cut of over one and a half percent and Japan’s Nikkei average slid nearly 3 percent to its lowest close in three months after elections in Europe stoked worries about efforts to resolve the euro zone debt crisis and US jobs data disappointed. However, China shares closed flat on Monday, with property and financial shares weak after regional markets suffered a bout of selling on fresh worries over the euro zone debt crisis.