Dow Jones fell 1 % and below the critical 13 000 level when the US exchanges opened after the Easter holidays. Nasdaq was down 1.08 % to 3047. The downturn came after the worse than expected employment numbers last Friday. It was expected that the employment figures would have been in line with the three preceding months when an average of 210 000 new jobs were added. The result for March was a disappointing 121 000.

The effect of the weak US employment figures continues to weigh heavily on the Asian markets. The South Korean Kospi and Taiwan were slightly up. Hang Seng fell 1% as did the Shanghai composite.

The markets were influenced by stronger than expected March export figures from China which increased 5,4 %. A fall in export was expected. Along with inflationary pressure the strong export, gives no hope that Chinese authorities shall loosen their credit policies and boost stock markets in the nearest future. Australian markets and the Aussie dollar are stronger on the Chinese export figures.

Nikkei raises on a weaker Yen. USD/JPY is trading at 81,525. Yen down 0,25 % against the dollar. Euro/USD is stabilizing on 1.313. Oil prices are stabilizing: NYMEX 102 and Brent stays above 122. Gold is gaining at 1652. Silver Is trading at 31.96.

Markets in Europe are expected to open in negative territory. Warning lights are blinking both in Spain and Italy on rising worries about the fate of their banking sectors. New data shows that Spanish and Italian banks have been buying record amounts of debt loading up on sovereign debts of their governments.