Asian stocks stumbled to a four-month low on Friday

Asian stocks stumbled to a four-month low on Friday and crude oil plunged on worries the U.S.-China trade spat was developing into a more entrenched strategic dispute between the world’s two largest economies, pushing investors to safe-haven assets.

Asian stocks

  • MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.2 percent.
  • Chinese shares recovered slightly, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite up 0.2%.
  • The blue-chip CSI 300 rising 0.3% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2%.
  • Japan’s Nikkei average fell 0.7%.
  • the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%.
  • The S&P 500 lost 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6%.

Bonds

As flight-to-safety plays dominated global markets, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield hit 2.292%, the lowest level since mid-October 2017, with the key parts of the yield curve inverted. The yield last stood at 2.326 percent.

Currency

  • The dollar index, which measures it against six major currencies, hit a high of 98.371 on Thursday U.S. time. It was last quoted at 97.872, little changed on the day.
  • The euro on Thursday slumped to levels last seen in May 2017 as a recovery in euro zone business activity was weaker than expected. Early Friday, the currency was steady on the day at $1.1181.
  • The pound was last traded at $1.2661 , little changed on the day. Sterling suffered its 14th consecutive day of losses against the euro on Thursday, its longest losing streak on record. It stood at 0.8831 pound to the euro.
  • The dollar was holding at 109.56 yen , almost flat on the day.

Commodities

In commodity markets, oil prices tumbled on Thursday as trade tensions dampened the demand outlook, with the crude benchmarks posting their biggest daily falls in six months. Oil prices stabilized on Friday amid OPEC supply cuts and tensions in the Middle East.

  •  U.S. crude rebounded 0.9% to $58.46 a barrel, after Thursday’s 5.7% fall that took it to the lowest in two months.
  • Brent crude futures rebounded 1.0% to $68.46 per barrel, after falling 4.6% in the previous session.

Source

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