Reuters
Asian stock markets dropped Friday, the front end of a global retreat as investors moved into the dollar amid fears that ongoing financial instability in Turkey will spread to other markets.
The country’s lira is down 13.3% this week, bringing its year-to-date decline to more than 35%. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.38% which gauges the dollar against a half-dozen monetary units, surged amid the turmoil, and recently was up 0.6% at 96.039.
Global trade tariff worries also continued to swirl around the region’s markets, while weaker oil prices hit related stock names.
Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -1.33% was off 1.3%, handing it a roughly 1% loss for the week.
Tokyo Electron 8035, -3.55% was down 3.5% and Nintendo 7974, -2.41% was off more than 2%. Inpex 1605, -3.93% dropped 3.9% as Brent crude futures LCOV8, -0.08% fell to their lowest level in almost a month.
Markets were little moved by Japan’s better-than-expected second-quarter GDP report. Yields for 10-year Japanese government bonds eased to around 0.105%.
South Korea’s Kospi SEU, -0.91% fell 0.9%, hit by weakness in Samsung 005930, -3.20% , which was off more than 3% after its new Galaxy Note 9 device was unveiled but won few fans.
After four days of gains, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.84% was off 0.8%. Property stocks rebounded, with CR Land 1109, +1.07% and Country Garden 2007, +0.85% bouncing more than 1%. But tech was weak, and Tencent 0700, -0.70% fell 0.7%.
As in Hong Kong, Chinese stocks got a lift from rebound in the beaten-down real-estate segment. The broader market extended Thursday’s bounce, with the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.03% ended just in positive territory and the Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.69% was up 0.6%. Energy names continued to retreat on weaker oil prices.
Australia’s benchmark index XJO, -0.31% was down 0.3%, as energy stocks continued to sag. Oil Search OSH, -2.52% was down 2.5% and Woodside Petroleum WPL, -1.29% was off 1.2%. Meanwhile, there was nothing in the Friday’s policy/forecast report from the Reserve Bank of Australia to suggest it’s getting closer to raising interest rates.
Stocks in New Zealand NZ50GR, +0.79% were up slightly after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand took a dovish stand on rates the day before, pushing back its rate-hike forecasts by a full year to 2020.
Malaysian stocks FBMKLCI, +0.04% gained 0.2%, having risen in 22 of the past 25 days. Singapore’s Strait Times Index STI, -1.19% , which was closed Thursday for a holiday, dove more than 1%, and Taiwan’s Taiex Y9999, -0.40% slipped 0.4%.
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