Asian stocks dropped in the wake of another plunge on Wall Street as the prospect of higher interest rates and turmoil in Europe stoked fears of global recession.

An index of the region’s equities headed for its seventh straight weekly loss, the longest losing streak since 2015. US futures fluctuated after the S&P 500 slid more than 2% to the lowest in almost two years.

The dollar swung between gains and losses versus major currencies including the pound as investors weighed risks emanating from the debt crisis gripping the UK. Treasury yields were little changed after days of being whipsawed.

The Cboe Volatility Index has been well over 30 for almost all of this week, reflecting heightened worry among equity investors. Another group of Federal Reserve officials struck a hawkish tone, German inflation topped 10% and the UK government’s tax plan continued to weigh on market sentiment.

The Bank of Japan boosted its planned bond purchases at a regular operation on Friday as it sought to cap upward pressure on yields, while Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his government to come up with an economic stimulus package by the end of October.

The offshore yuan weakened and was at risk of further depreciation next week, when China goes on a one-week holiday, leaving Beijing unable to guide investor expectations with its daily reference rate.

“Our assumption is that the Chinese government will continue to fight this administratively as long as they can before they have to step in with direct intervention and have to start selling down US reserves,” Charlene Chu, senior analyst for Autonomous Research, said on Bloomberg Television.

Amid the economic pressure, China’s central government shifted to allow some cities to lower their mortgage rates for first home purchases in its latest bid to help the country’s struggling housing market.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped nearly 4% during the session after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said investors have now understood that they can’t escape additional rate hikes in coming months. The index was dragged down by Apple Inc., which fell after a rare analyst downgrade from Bank of America warning of weaker consumer demand for its popular devices.

How much damage is a strong dollar causing? That’s the theme of this week’s MLIV Pulse survey. It’s brief and we don’t collect your name or any contact information. Please click here to share your views.

Key events this week:

Euro zone CPI, unemployment, Friday

US consumer income , University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Fed’s Lael Brainard and John Williams speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures decreased 0.1% as of 12:13 p.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 2.1%

Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.9%

Japan’s Topix index fell 1.5%

South Korea’s Kospi index fluctuated

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.1%

China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.7%

Euro Stoxx 50 futures gained 0.3%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fluctuated

The euro was down 0.1% at $0.9807

The Japanese yen decreased 0.2% to 144.68 per dollar

The offshore yuan fell 0.2% to 7.1135 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $19,403.41

Ether fell 0.7% to $1,328.31

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.79%

Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose two basis points to 3.95%

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.2% to $81.12 a barrel

Spot gold was at $1,662.94 an ounce

Source:
courtesy of BLOOMBERG

by Tassia Sipahutar

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