Asian shares take breather after Wall Street gains

Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday as investors kept a wary eye on how the coronavirus pandemic will affect the economic outlook.

Asian shares

  • Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 23,220.33, reopening after a four-day weekend, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.1% lower, to 23,700.69. South Korea’s Kospi sank 0.8% to 2,313.86.
  • Shares fell in Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan but rose in Jakarta.
  • The Shanghai Composite index inched up 0.1% to 3,275.87.
  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.5% to 5,871.90 after the government said retail sales fell 4.2% from the month before in August, much less than the 11% forecast, Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

Bonds

  • Treasury yields have dipped, and the 10-year yield was steady at 0.67%.

Commodities

  • U.S. benchmark crude gave up 38 cents to $39.42 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 26 cents to $39.80 per barrel on Tuesday.
  • Brent crude slipped 37 cents to $41.35 per barrel.

Currency Markets

  • The U.S. dollar rose to 105.08 Japanese yen from 104.93 yen late Tuesday.
  • The euro weakened to $1.1686 from $1.1710.

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