Asia sags on lingering global growth anxiety, euro steady

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares were largely lower on Thursday after more dour economic news in China and the United States piled pressure on riskier assets.

Spreadbetters expected Britain’s FTSE, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC to open slightly lower on continuing fallout from the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

Worries that an eventual tightening in US monetary policy and slower growth in China could knock the global economy have scared off investors, particularly those invested in stocks and commodities.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.2% after having posted their biggest single-day fall in almost a month the previous day.

Shanghai shares trimmed a chunk of early gains and were up only 0.3% as of 0511 GMT, reflecting how investor confidence in the economy remains wobbly at best, while South Korea’s Kospi nudged up 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1%.

Japan’s Nikkei average, opening for the first time since Friday after a string of national holidays, tumbled 2.2%, edging near its seven-month low touched earlier this year. Shares of Japanese automakers sagged in a delayed reaction to the Volkswagen scandal.

The scandal has raised fears among economists that it could develop into a major threat to Europe’s largest economy.

Wall Street also lost ground on Wednesday, dragged down by economic reports portraying US factory growth as tepid and China in its worst manufacturing contraction since the global financial crisis.