HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets suffered from the eurozone debt crisis Thursday after Spains credit rating was downgraded, while the euro remained stuck near one-year lows. The International Monetary Fund said confidence in the entire 16-nation euro area was at risk, while Greeces prime minister said the European Union must prevent a fire from engulfing the regional and world economy. Global markets were sent reeling after Standard & Poors downgraded its credit rating for Greece to junk status on Tuesday, while Portugal also saw its rating lowered. Hopes for a bailout running up to 120 billion euros (158 billion dollars) were raised Wednesday as Germany signalled it was more willing to help Greece, with Chancellor Angela Merkel saying rescue talks must be accelerated. Greece has said it needs emergency loans from the EU and IMF by May 19 to avoid defaulting on its debts. Sydney fell 0.77 percent, or 37.2 points, to end at 4,785.6, while Seoul ended 0.32 percent, or 5.49 points, off at 1,728.42. Hong Kong ended down 0.81 percent, or 170.48 points, at 20,778.92. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday. Asia ignored a rally on Wall Street sparked by news that the Federal Reserve looks unlikely to raise interest rates in the very near future after keeping borrowing costs ultra-low on Wednesday. Asian fears were stoked after the credit rating of Spain, whose economy is five times the size of Greeces, was downgraded by S&P to AA from AA+ while its outlook was lowered to negative. Spains Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega said her government was adopting all the measures needed to meet our commitments to bring the swollen public deficit down. But IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn struck an ominous note, warning: It is the confidence in the whole zone that is at stake. Economist Ben May at research firm Capital Economics in London said: The downgrade of Spanish government debt by S&P is another alarming sign that the effects of the Greek crisis are spreading. The news weighed on the euro, which hovered near one-year lows against the greenback at 1.3210 dollars, from 1.3201 in New York late Wednesday. Euro-dollar is getting hammered... were quite prepared for poor euro performance, Thio Chin Loo, senior currency analyst of BNP Paribas in Singapore, said. The dollar bought 93.97 Japanese yen in Asian trade Thursday from 94.05. Herman Van Rompuy, the European Unions president, has convened an emergency summit of eurozone leaders for around May 10 on the debt crisis. Shanghai fell 1.10 percent, or 31.90 points, to 2,868.43 as fears lingered over government plans cap property price rises. The IMF warned, meanwhile, that Asian economies risked overheating as high capital inflows fan inflation and raise the danger of asset bubbles. In its latest regional report, the IMF urged Asian economies to return to more normal monetary policies after the global downturn and increase their exchange rate flexibility. Brighter economic growth prospects and widening interest rate differentials with advanced economies are likely to attract more capital to the region, the IMF report said. This could lead to overheating in some economies and increase their vulnerability to credit and asset price booms with the risk of subsequent abrupt reversals. Oil was lower, with New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, down 10 cents to 83.12 dollars a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude for June dipped eight cents to 86.08 dollars. Gold closed at 1,167.50-1,168.50 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, up from Wednesdays close of 1,164.50-1,165.50 dollars.