Asian stock markets slumped in early trading Wednesday as trade tensions rose following a report that China is seeking permission from the World Trade Organization to impose sanctions against the U.S., separate from the tariff battle between the world’s largest economic powers.
The declines continued for Hong Kong stocks, which hit 14-month lows Tuesday and saw the Hang Seng Index
HSI, -0.49%
enter bear-market territory. It was off a further 0.5% Wednesday, headed toward its sixth straight decline. Chinese bank stocks were lower, as were Macau casino names. Sino Biopharma
2922, -10.05%
and knitwear maker Shenzhou
2313, -2.15%
, which joined the Hang Seng on Monday, were on an early pace for a third day of declines. Tech giant Tencent
0700, +0.39%
gave up early gains after fresh stock-buyback activity Tuesday.
Chinese equities fell as well. The Shanghai Composite
SHCOMP, -0.32%
was off 0.5% after two days of declines, with financials leading this morning’s drop. But energy names provided support after the overnight jump in oil prices. The Shenzhen Composite
399106, -0.18%
was down 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei
NIK, -0.41%
dropped 0.5%, despite further easing of the yen
USDJPY, -0.12%
. Korea’s Kospi
SEU, -0.21%
was off 0.2% and Australia’s benchmark
XJO, -0.11%
as essentially flat after breaking an eight-day losing streak Tuesday. New Zealand’s NZX 50
NZ50GR, -0.50%
, which bounced 2% Tuesday to be the region’s best performer, was down 0.4%.
Benchmarks in Taiwan
Y9999, -0.45%
and Malaysia
FBMKLCI, -0.69%
, which resumed trading after a four-day weekend, sank, while Singapore’s Strait Times Index
STI, -0.03%
was about flat.
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Source : MTV
