TOKYO — Asian shares dipped Wednesday, mirroring a sell-off on Wall Street on fears about slowing growth and falling
company profits.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6 percent to 22,135.07 in early trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.1 percent to 30,298.60, and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.7 percent to 3,108.01. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.7 percent at 2,445.90. Australia’s market was closed for Anzac Day, a public holiday. Southeast Asian shares were also mostly lower.
WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index sank 35.73 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,634.56. The Dow Jones industrial average finished with a loss of 424.56 points, or 1.7 percent, to 24,024.13. The Nasdaq composite dropped 121.25 points, or 1.7 percent, to 7,007.35.
THE QUOTE: “U.S. markets were rocked by both bond yields and corporate concerns overnight, seeing only few defensive sectors thriving on the comprehensive S&P 500 index. This could be a trend that carries through to the Asian session,” says Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore. YIELDS QUESTION: Bond prices slipped again Tuesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.99 percent from 2.98 percent. Earlier it peaked at 3 percent for the first time since January 2014. Low interest rates have played an important role in the economic recovery of the last decade, and the yield on the 10-year note is a benchmark for many kinds of interest rates including mortgages. It’s been climbing because investors expect higher economic growth and inflation.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 10 cents to $67.60 a barrel. It shed 1.4 percent to $67.70 a barrel in New York the previous day. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 15 cents to $73.71 per barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar inched up to 108.86 yen from 108.84 yen. The euro rose to $1.2225 from $ 1.2196.
