Summary Markets were ripe for some correction after recent rallies.
TOKYO (Agencies) - Commodities from gold to oil recouped some of their earlier steep losses but remained volatile after investors dumped risk assets overnight, gripped by worries over slowing growth in China and the United States.
European stock markets were seen extending losses, with financial spreadbetters predicting London s FTSE 100, Paris s CAC-40 and Frankfurt s DAX to open down as much as 0.8 percent.
US stock futures were up 0.5 percent, pointing to a rebound at the Wall Street open after US stocks dropped more than 2 percent .N and the Standard & Poor s 500 index had its worst day since November 7 overnight, after two bombs ripped through the crowd at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday killing at least three people and injuring more than 100.
The MSCI s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent after shedding as much as 1 percent to come closer to a 2013 low hit earlier this month, dragged down by its materials and energy sectors.
Markets were ripe for some correction after recent rallies.
US stocks hit record highs, underpinned by optimism about a steady recovery in the world s two largest economies, despite patchy economic reports. Oil and base metals were resilient despite supply capacities, and investors piled up positions shorting the yen on expectations for bold monetary stimulus.
Cash gold and US gold futures plunged to their weakest in more than two years, pulling silver lower and dragging Tokyo gold futures down almost 10 percent.
Spot gold fell as much as 2.3 percent to $1,321.35 an ounce before recovering to $1,352.56 while silver shed as much as 2.4 percent to $22.04 before trading up at $22.76.
On Monday, the price of gold bullion tumbled another $125 per ounce in its biggest-ever daily loss, and its 9 percent loss was the biggest since 1983.
Gold has been struggling to extend gains this year as a recent rally in US and global equities drained money out of bullion while concerns about central bank selling and a steady drop in exchange traded funds on selling by large investors further undermined investor sentiment.
