- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
RBGPF | 7.18% | 64.75 | $ | |
CMSD | -1.21% | 24.78 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.21% | 24.72 | $ | |
RIO | -0.08% | 71.17 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 7.05 | $ | |
RELX | -0.21% | 47.46 | $ | |
VOD | -0.7% | 10.02 | $ | |
BTI | -0.71% | 36.58 | $ | |
NGG | -0.09% | 69.67 | $ | |
GSK | 0.42% | 40.88 | $ | |
SCS | 2.52% | 13.49 | $ | |
BCC | -0.36% | 140.98 | $ | |
BCE | -1.12% | 34.8 | $ | |
JRI | 0.66% | 13.67 | $ | |
AZN | 0.37% | 77.91 | $ | |
BP | -0.1% | 31.39 | $ |
Asian markets tumble after Federal Reserve chief's comments
Asian markets fell sharply at the open on Friday, trailing losses on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve boss said an interest-rate hike was likely forthcoming.
Hong Kong and Tokyo both opened deep in the red even as inflation data from Japan was in line with market expectations and better than elsewhere in the world.
A falling yen, due mainly to the interest rate gap between Japan and the United States, had boosted trade on the Nikkei 225 all of this week.
But the prospect of rate hikes in the United States and ongoing pandemic disruptions in China, where millions are still under a harsh Covid-19 precipitated lockdown, weighed on Asian bourses.
Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney, and Taipei were all down.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments reversed fortunes on Wall Street mid-session.
Equities had opened higher following good results from Tesla and upbeat comments from leading airlines as well as solid gains in Paris and Frankfurt.
But US stocks tumbled after Powell, who has signalled the US central bank will have to move more aggressively to counter record US inflation, explicitly said a half-point interest rate increase is "on the table" for next month's policy meeting.
"Red flags are going up today," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"While one day certainly does not make a trend, when the market decides to focus on a super hawkish inflation-fighting Fed narrative stoking recession fears, it typically triggers significant shifts in investor behaviours and conversations, and markets then turn a lot more caution."
Major US indices all finished down more than one percent, while the dollar pushed higher against the euro and other currencies.
Oil prices also took a hit over the Fed's potential monetary policy tightening and dwindling energy demand in China.
Supply concerns linked to the war in Ukraine and protest-related disruptions in Libya were also impacting crude.
"Russian Production decreased, pointing to self and official sanctions starting to bite oil prices bullishly," Innes said.
"It is Friday, and typically, no one wants to go short oil into the weekend for fear of dreadful Ukraine weekend headline risk. So that suggests to me that oil holds a bid barring awful news out of China on the Covid front, where there seems to be some light at the end of the lockdown tunnel."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.92 percent at 27,023.88
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.93 percent at 20,490.48
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.10 percent at 3,076.69
Euro/dollar: FLAT at $1.0840 from $1.0840
Dollar/yen: UP at 128.59 yen from 128.35 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3023 from $1.3029
Euro/pound: UP at 83.23 pence from 83.14 pence
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.66 percent at $107.62 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.73 percent at $103.03 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 34,792.76 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,627.95 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.0 percent at 14,502.41 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.4 percent at 6,715.10 (close)
burs-ssy/reb
Y.Tengku--CPN