Europe struggled to finalise a near trillion-dollar rescue fund for indebted eurozone nations Tuesday amid persistent fears a deepening crisis may derail a global economic recovery.
Eurozone finance ministers met for another round of late night talks in Brussels after the single currency plunged to a four-year low against the dollar on fears the plan may not be enough to stop the debt crisis spreading.
But after seven hours they reached no clear agreement over access or activation of the funds and said they would reconvene Friday to iron out "technical details," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said.
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Earlier the finance chief for the 16 countries that share the currency stressed that the euro retained a "credible" place within the global monetary system, after expressing concern at the speed of the unit's plunge Monday.
After agreeing a 110 billion euro (140 billion dollar) bailout for Greece and a 750 billion euro fund for other European Union nations that may struggle to repay loans, Europe's leaders are scrambling to put the plan into action.
There are lingering concerns that a default would hit the financial system in the same way the collapse of Lehman Brothers did in 2008, and that the austerity measures being introduced might crush future European growth.
"The support package cobbled together by EU governments and the IMF may have averted a near-term sovereign debt crisis," said Capital Economics in a research note.
"But it is conditional on massive fiscal consolidation (and structural reform) that may ultimately prove too much for the electorates of some Member States in the eurozone to bear."
The euro bought 1.2335 dollars in Tokyo morning trade, down from 1.2394 dollars in New York late Monday but recouping some lost ground from a four-year low of 1.2234.
"The market simply doesn't want to buy the euro. Confidence on the euro will not be restored until the fiscal crisis in Greece and other countries is resolved," said Credit Suisse strategist Satoru Ogasawara.
After seeing heavy falls Monday, a slight gain on Wall Street saw Asian markets rebound slightly on bargain buying with Tokyo gaining 0.45 percent in noon trade. Hong Kong lifted 0.41 percent but Seoul slid 0.68 percent.
Around 14.5 billion euros of loans agreed for Greece is due on Tuesday, meeting an Athens deadline for the most urgent tranche in a 300 billion euro debt-pile -- before a further 110 billion euros in eurozone and IMF aid.
Juncker earlier gave his backing to controversial plans for Brussels to vet the budgets of all 27 EU countries before they are put to national parliaments.
The eurozone ministers also heard detailed proposals from Spain and Portugal, who last week announced they would accelerate cuts to their public spending in a bid to restore market confidence in the eurozone.
Conditions attached to the mammoth sum of emergency aid placed at the disposal of all eurozone countries, in a backstop bid to calm markets, will also soon be worked out, European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said.
Part of the rescue plan saw the European Central Bank reveal it would collect 16.5 billion euros (20.3 billion dollars) from commercial banks in fixed-term deposits to offset its purchases of government bonds last week.
"The transaction is meant to mop up the current amount of excess reserves," Barclays Capital economist Thorsten Polleit told AFP, which would help contain inflationary pressures.
That move was designed to underpin borrowing conditions for vulnerable eurozone countries such as Greece, Portugal and Spain.
