Shares in Asia fell on Wednesday and European markets were predicted to follow suit, after a surprise move by Germany to ban the naked short-selling of shares.

德国政府意外禁止对股票实行无担保卖空，导致周三亚洲股市下跌，并有预言称欧洲股市也难逃厄运。

German efforts to limit short-selling hurt the euro

Analysts¹ said Berlin's move had led to uncertainty² and had added to fears for Europe's banks.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.2% in late trade, while markets in Hong Kong and Singapore also fell.

The euro also hit another a four-year low against the dollar.

In Tokyo, the single currency fell below $1.215 for the first time since April 2006, before recovering to $1.2202.

Lucrative³

The German government's ban will apply to the country's 10 most important financial institutions（金融机构） , and aims to stop the short-selling of euro government bonds.

Short-sellers usually borrow shares, sell them, then buy them back when the stock falls and return them to the lender, keeping the difference in price.

"Naked" short selling occurs when a trader sells a financial instrument that has not yet been borrowed.

The German ban will run from 19 May to 31 March 2011, and will also apply to naked credit default swaps⁴（信用违约交换） .

Credit default swaps are financial derivatives⁵（金融衍生物） that provide insurance for losses if a borrower goes bankrupt, and have become a lucrative（赚钱的，合算的） trading market.

'Uncoordinated'

Germany's market regulator, Bafin, said that the "extraordinary volatility⁶（挥发性，波动） of the bonds of eurozone states" had justified⁷ the short-selling ban.

But some analysts argued the prospect⁸ of other EU nations following suit had led to uncertainty about its impact.

"Once again a single eurozone country has enforced a unilateral（单边的） measure in an uncoordinated fashion," said Mitul Kotecha at Credit Agricole.

John Kyriakopoulos of National Australia Bank in Sydney said the German decision to ban short-selling "suggested policymakers were deeply worried about threats to their banks from their lending to Greece".

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell 121.8 points to 10,120.82, while Australia's S&P index slipped 1.4%.

The key markets of Singapore, India and Indonesia all fell, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.1%.