Asian shares are lower after US stocks posted their worst loss in five weeks on Wednesday after a surprisingly limp report on the nation’s manufacturing that stirred worries about the economic outlook.
Asian Shares
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.6 per cent to 21,758.02.
- Tthe Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4 per cent to 25,980.37.
- Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 gave up 1.3 per cent to 6,658.20.
- The Kospi in South Korea sank 1.4 per cent, to 2,044.01 after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea Wednesday.
- The S&P 500 slumped 1.2 per cent to 2,940.25 for its sharpest loss since August.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3 per cent to 26,573.04, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.1 per cent to 7,908.68.
Bonds
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 1.66 per cent from 1.74 per cent before the report’s release, which is a big move.
Currency
- The dollar rose to 107.87 Japanese yen from 107.73 yen on Tuesday.
- The euro strengthened to $1.0937 from $1.0934.
Oil prices
- Benchmark crude oil rebounded, gaining 56 cents to $54.18 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 45 cents to $53.62 a barrel on Tuesday.
- Brent crude oil, the international standard, picked up 41 cents to $59.30 per barrel.