Asian Markets Lower After Weak USD and Slowdown in China

Asian shares were subdued on Thursday after more dour economic news in China and the United States prompted a bruising selloff the previous day.

Worries that an eventual tightening in U.S. 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 crawled up 0.2 percent after having posted their biggest single-day fall in almost a month the previous day.

Shanghai shares gained 0.7 percent after losing more than 2 percent on Wednesday, while South Korea’s Kospi nudged up 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, however, shed 0.6 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei average, opening for the first time since Friday after a string of national holidays, tumbled 2.3 percent, edging near its seven-month low touched earlier this year. Shares of Japanese automakers sagged in a delayed reaction to the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

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

Via Reuters

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza