Asian stocks fall after ratings downgrade

Asian stocks sank today after a ratings downgrade rattled Europe and crucial talks aimed at nudging Greece toward solvency were mired in disagreement.

Benchmark oil prices were slightly higher near 99 US dollars per barrel and the dollar rose against the euro but fell against the yen.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slid 1.5% to 8,372.67 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1% at 19,021.85. South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 1.1% to 1,855.95.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and mainland China also fell.

Standard & Poor’s decision on Friday to strip France of its top-notch credit rating and to downgrade eight other nations that use the euro battered investment sentiment, raising fears that a solution to the continent’s sovereign debt crisis may be far off.

Negotiations between the Greek government and its private creditors on a bond swap nearly collapsed on Friday.

The deal would reduce Greece’s debt by 100 billion euro by swapping private creditors’ bonds with new ones of a lower value.

Without the swap, debt-crippled Greece is unlikely to secure a second financial bailout – which could hurtle the country into bankruptcy and send economic shock waves around the world. Greece’s first bailout came in 2010.