Asian stocks have resumed their losses, following a sell-off on Wall Street due to ongoing volatility and concerns over the global economy. The recent data indicating fewer US jobs created in July has heightened fears of a potential recession. Weak earnings reports from major companies like Disney, Airbnb, and TripAdvisor further fueled worries about consumer spending amid high inflation and borrowing costs.
Despite Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinting at potential interest rate cuts in September, market sentiment remains cautious. The tech sector, which has seen significant gains this year, is also experiencing profit-taking. The US Treasury bond auction's poor reception added to the negative mood, affecting all three major Wall Street indexes.
Asian markets mirrored this downturn, with significant losses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington, Manila, and Jakarta. Tokyo, however, managed a slight gain. The yen has recovered slightly against the dollar after a dovish signal from the Bank of Japan, which suggested it would not raise interest rates further amidst market volatility.
Key figures as of 0230 GMT include:
- Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 35,148.10 (break)
- Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 16,806.13
- Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,858.26
- Dollar/yen: DOWN at 146.27 yen from 146.83 yen on Wednesday
- Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0927 from $1.0925
- Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2683 from $1.2692
- Euro/pound: UP at 86.15 pence from 86.06 pence
- West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $75.42 per barrel
- Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $78.43 per barrel
- New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 38,763.45 (close)
- London - FTSE 100: UP 1.8 percent at 8,166.88 (close)
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