Concern is growing about Spain, another euro-zone member, after the yield on its benchmark 10-year government bonds rose 16 basis points to 6.47 per cent. That saw the spread against the German Bund widen to a record 514 basis points.
Spain's fourth-biggest bank Bankia SA is seeking 19 billion euro of state funding after increasing its provisions for bad debt. The government recently nationalised Bankia, and had previously estimated 15 billion euros would be enough to shore up its entire banking sector.
Markets in the world's largest economy, the US, will reopen today after being closed for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
Tuesday kicks off a data-heavy week in the US with the release of the Case-Shiller home price index and consumer confidence on Tuesday and pending home sales on Wednesday. Investors will be searching for signs that the housing market is stabilising after new homes sales rose 3.3 per cent in April, while existing homes sales climbed 3.4 per cent to their best annual pace since May 2010.
There is no significant data due out in New Zealand until Wednesday, with the release of April building consents by Statistics New Zealand.
The New Zealand dollar was little changed at 60.65 euro cents from 60.49 cents yesterday. The kiwi was largely unchanged at 77.21 Australian cents from 77.25 cents and traded at 48.47 British pence from 48.50 pence. It dropped to 60.45 yen from 60.97 yen yesterday.