Asian shares tumble

Saturday, 9 August 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Asian shares tumbled on Friday as investors sought out safe-haven assets on growing fears that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could sap global growth, extending losses after US President Obama authorised air strikes in Iraq. Better-than-expected export growth from China pulled markets off their lows, but failed to offset all the gloom, which was expected to cast a long shadow over European shares. Financial spreadbetters see Britain’s FTSE 100 opening 45 points lower, or down 0.7%; Germany’s DAX opening 92 points lower, or down 1%; and France’s CAC 40 shedding 43 points at the open, or down 1%.

“It seems only a short time ago that traders were talking corrections, but now it seems only a matter of time before we see technical bear markets” in some European bourses, “ IG Chief Market Strategist Chris Weston wrote in a note to clients. Obama said in an address that he authorised targeted strikes to protect the besieged Yazidi minority and US personnel in Iraq, after the Iraqi government requested help. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Security Council on Thursday called for the international community to help Iraq’s Government and people as the country struggles against a sweeping advance by Islamist militants. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off its lows but was still down about 0.9%, on track for a weekly loss of around 1.6%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average plunged about 3%, giving up the 15,000 level and shedding 4.8% for the week. US crude, meanwhile, soared more than a $1 to $98.45 a barrel, after closing at its the weakest level since February on Wednesday. It was last up about 0.6% at $97.96, while Brent crude rose 0.9% to $106.39 a barrel. “In the big scheme of things the moves feel overdone, but that’s because volatility has been so low recently. Everyone said the volatility couldn’t stay so low, that something would change it. This seems to be the event,” said Richard Grace, chief currency and rates strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. S&P 500 e-mini futures slipped 0.6%, which could portend a downbeat day ahead on Wall Street. On Thursday, US shares ended down, erasing early gains marked on data showing the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. But markets edged away from their session lows after China reported that its exports in July jumped 14.5% from a year earlier, while imports fell 1.6%, leaving the country with a trade surplus of $47.3 billion for the month. That beat market expectations of a 7.5% rise in exports, a 3% increase in imports and a trade surplus of $27 billion. The European Central Bank said after its monthly policy-setting meeting on Thursday that it stands ready to take further easing steps to stave off deflation, and warned that the Ukraine crisis poses a serious risk. Russia said on Wednesday it will ban all US food imports and all European fruit and vegetables, in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed for Moscow’s support of the Ukraine separatists. A silver lining of the tensions was a weakening effect on Europe’s currency, in line with the ECB’s hopes. The euro stood close to nine-month lows against the greenback at $1.3361, steady on the day and not far from this week’s low of $1.3333 touched on Wednesday. The dollar slumped about 0.3% against the yen to 101.75, after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Friday and offered a bleaker view on exports and output after recent weak data cast doubts over its optimistic view that the economy is steadily recovering. Spot gold hit $1,318.80 an ounce, its highest since 18 July, and was last up 0.4% on the day at $1,319.46.