AFP, Hong Kong :
Asian stocks followed Wall Street falling sharply lower Friday, compounding a global sell-off after a deadly Barcelona rampage claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group exacerbated mounting fears over White House turmoil.
In New York, the S&P 500 Index tumbled by its second-biggest drop of the year with financial and technology shares among the worst hit, as news broke of a van ploughing into pedestrians in the Catalan capital, killing 13.
Stocks were initially in the red from rumours Donald Trump’s economic advisor Gary Cohn would resign owing to unhappiness over the US president’s response to a violent rally by racist groups in Charlottesville, although a White House source denied the claims.
Hong Kong led the Asian sell-off Friday with shares down more than one percent in morning trade. The Hang Seng was also dragged lower by market heavyweight Lenovo’s plummeting share price after the Chinese tech giant posted a surprise quarterly loss.
Tokyo was also more than one percent down by the break, as the Nikkei also struggled in the face of the renewed strength of the yen against the greenback.
Shanghai, Sydney and Seoul all fell, just as Asia-Pacific stocks had clawed back much of their losses from last week’s slump over fears of military clashes between North Korea and the US, fuelled by angry threats from both sides.
“Last Thursday’s Korean scare sell-off has now been followed by another significant decline,” said Ric Spooner, an analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
“This could be a more typical situation where volatility creates volatility as pent up profit taking and nervous investors are motivated to act as prices begin to weaken.”
Bourses in Europe closed before the Spanish attack unfolded, and mostly fell on uncertainty following minutes from a European Central Bank meeting highlighting concerns over the rising euro.
Asian stocks followed Wall Street falling sharply lower Friday, compounding a global sell-off after a deadly Barcelona rampage claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group exacerbated mounting fears over White House turmoil.
In New York, the S&P 500 Index tumbled by its second-biggest drop of the year with financial and technology shares among the worst hit, as news broke of a van ploughing into pedestrians in the Catalan capital, killing 13.
Stocks were initially in the red from rumours Donald Trump’s economic advisor Gary Cohn would resign owing to unhappiness over the US president’s response to a violent rally by racist groups in Charlottesville, although a White House source denied the claims.
Hong Kong led the Asian sell-off Friday with shares down more than one percent in morning trade. The Hang Seng was also dragged lower by market heavyweight Lenovo’s plummeting share price after the Chinese tech giant posted a surprise quarterly loss.
Tokyo was also more than one percent down by the break, as the Nikkei also struggled in the face of the renewed strength of the yen against the greenback.
Shanghai, Sydney and Seoul all fell, just as Asia-Pacific stocks had clawed back much of their losses from last week’s slump over fears of military clashes between North Korea and the US, fuelled by angry threats from both sides.
“Last Thursday’s Korean scare sell-off has now been followed by another significant decline,” said Ric Spooner, an analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.
“This could be a more typical situation where volatility creates volatility as pent up profit taking and nervous investors are motivated to act as prices begin to weaken.”
Bourses in Europe closed before the Spanish attack unfolded, and mostly fell on uncertainty following minutes from a European Central Bank meeting highlighting concerns over the rising euro.
