All hopes pinned on ECB stimulus: Euro hits 9-year low, oil records near 6-year plunge

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SYDNEY: The euro hit near nine-year lows on Wednesday as shareholders bet the European Central Bank was just a week away from introducing a new stimulus campaign, whereas worries about the global economy kept Asian stocks subdued.
There was no reprieve for commodities with oil near six-year lows while copper prices dropped further below $6,000 per tonne to their weakest level in more than five years.
Not helping the mood was news the World Bank had lowered its global growth forecasts because of sluggishness in the euro zone, Japan and some major emerging economies.
“The global economy is at a disconcerting juncture,” World Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu told reporters. “It is as challenging a moment as it gets for economic forecasting.”
That was a challenging background for equities and Australia’s main share index slipped 0.3 percent in early trade.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was just a fraction firmer.
Wall Street had ended Tuesday with minor losses, led by a drop in materials and energy shares. It was a choppy session with the S&P 500 swinging from a gain of 1.4 percent to a fall of 1 percent before steadying.
The Dow (.DJI) eased 0.15 percent, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) dipped 0.26 percent and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) 0.07 percent.
The dollar outpaced the euro on the back of upbeat U.S. economic data and after two European Central Bank (ECB) officials fuelled expectations that the bank would launch a program to buy government bonds at its Jan. 22 policy meeting.
The common currency fell as far as $1.1753 to reach a low not seen since December 2005. It last traded at $1.1775. Against the yen, the euro slumped to its lowest in over two months near 138.30.
Market attention now turns to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is expected to provide a non-binding opinion on the legality of an ECB bond-buying program later on Wednesday.