Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday, mirroring Wall Street’s losses as renewed concerns over the banking sector and escalating trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment.
Shares of regional lenders and investment bank Jefferies plunged in the United States on Thursday amid growing fears about bad loans in the financial system, sparking a wave of risk aversion across global markets.
By 11:40 am AEDT (12:40 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3% after setting a fresh record high in the previous session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1%, while South Korea’s Kospi 200 fell 0.5%.
Among key data releases, South Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eased to 2.5% in September from 2.6% a month earlier.
On Wall Street overnight, the major indices all finished lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7%, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5%, led by steep losses in financial stocks.
Commodity markets saw mixed movements. Brent crude fell 1.4% to settle at US$61.06 a barrel.
Spot gold, meanwhile, climbed 2.8% to a new record high of US$4,326.07 per ounce.
In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to close at 3,916.2, while the CSI 300 gained 0.3% to finish at 4,618.4.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1% to 25,888.5, while India’s BSE Sensex advanced 1% to 83,467.7.
European markets ended higher on Thursday. London’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1% to 9,436.1, Germany’s DAX climbed 0.4% to 24,272.2, and France’s CAC 40 surged 1.4% to 8,188.6 - its highest level in several months.
