Asian shares rise after buying mood on Wall Street ends week

TOKYO – Asian shares were mostly higher Monday cheered by a buying mood on Wall Street that came at the end of last week.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.3% in early trading to 23,414.51, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.2% to 6,722.90. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.3% to 2,088.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost earlier gains to inch down 0.2% to 26,451.16. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2% to 2,906.42.

“Markets were mostly higher on the solid U.S. jobs data print,” said Vishnu Varathan of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank in Singapore, adding that questions remained on whether would prove enough amid other global risks.

The surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report had put investors in a buying mood on Wall Street, extending the market’s winning streak to a third day.

The rally pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by more than 300 points and erased the S&P 500’s losses from earlier in the week, nudging the benchmark index to a second consecutive weekly gain.

The Labor Department said employers added 266,000 positions, well above estimates of 184,000. The report also showed unemployment falling to a 50-year low. Separately, an index that measures how consumers feel about the economy showed an increase from last month.

The S&P 500 rose 28.48 points, or 0.9%, to 3,145.91. The index posted a 0.2% gain for the week, a solid pivot from losses of more than 1% as of late Thursday. It’s now within 0.3% of its all-time high set on Nov. 27 and up 25.5% so far this year.


The latest gains also helped stem some of the losses for the Dow and Nasdaq.

The Dow climbed 337.27 points, or 1.2%, to 28,015.06. The Nasdaq gained 85.83 points, or 1%, to 8,656.53. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 19 points, or 1.2%, to 1,633.84.

Friday’s batch of encouraging economic data capped what started as a rough week for the market.

Increased trade tensions and disappointing economic reports — including data showing manufacturing continues to shrink, and growth in the service sector is slowing — dragged the market to steep losses on Monday and Tuesday.

The latest employment report and consumer sentiment data are a welcome development as steady job growth has been one of the bright spots in the economy, along with solid consumer spending.

Investors also got some encouraging news on the U.S.-China trade front, with Beijing saying Friday that it is waiving punitive tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork as negotiations for a trade deal continue.

ENERGY:

Benchmark crude oil

It rose 77 cents to $59.20 a barrel on Friday.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1 to close at $64.39 a barrel.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar fell to 108.59 Japanese yen from 108.69 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.1055 from $1.1107.

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares track Wall Street losses on weak US factory data

BANGKOK – Asian shares are lower after U.S. stocks posted their worst loss in five weeks on Wednesday after a surprisingly limp report on the nation’s manufacturing that stirred worries about the economic outlook.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.6% to 21,758.02 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.4% to 25,980.37. Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 gave up 1.3% to 6,658.20.

The Kospi in South Korea sank 1.4%, to 2,044.01 after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, in a display of its expanding military capabilities hours after saying it would resume nuclear diplomacy with the United States this weekend.

The report showed that manufacturing weakened in September for the second straight month as President Donald Trump’s trade war with China dragged on confidence and factory activity. It dashed economists’ expectations that August’s contraction had been an aberration, and stocks and bond yields immediately reversed course to drop sharply lower following the report.

The S&P 500 slumped 1.2% to 2,940.25 for its sharpest loss since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% to 26,573.04, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1.1% to 7,908.68.

Small-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index lost 2%, to 1,493.43.


In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 1.66% from 1.74% before the report’s release, which is a big move. Three stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, and gold climbed as investors sought safer ground.

Economists had been expecting growth to resume in September, and they had forecast a reading of 50.4, according to FactSet.

Manufacturers say global trade remains the most significant issue, and all the uncertainty caused by the trade war is hurting exporters in particular. Businesses are unsure what the rules of international trade will be, and it’s causing CEOs to pull back on their spending plans. In a separate report, the World Trade Organization said global trade growth will slow to its weakest pace this year since 2009.

“The disappointing data is only fanning long-standing fears of slowing global growth,” said Alec Young, managing director of Global Markets Research at FTSE Russell.

Manufacturing is a relatively small part of the economy, but investors worry about whether it will spill into other areas. That puts an even bigger spotlight on Friday’s jobs report, which economists expect to show an acceleration in hiring.


Household spending has been a pillar for the economy, particularly when manufacturing and business spending are under threat, and a strong job market helps households keep spending. But uncertainty is looming even there.

A report last week showed that consumer spending rose less than economists expected in August. Two reports on consumer confidence last week gave a mixed picture, with one falling below expectations and the other rising above.

Last month’s jobs report was also surprisingly weak, but that may have been a one-off, some analysts say.

“The month of August over the last 10 years has been the wonkiest jobs report of the year,” said Philip Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors. It often falls below expectations, only for the numbers to be revised higher in subsequent months, he said.

“There’s no question the data has been softer, slower, weaker, pick your adjective for today versus a year ago,” Orlando said about the broad economy. “But I do think we’re going to get through this.”

The Fed and other central banks around the world have been aggressive in keeping rates low to shield against the effects of the trade war and slowing global economic growth. The Fed lowered short-term rates twice this summer, down to a range of 1.75% to 2%, the first cuts since the financial crisis was toppling economies around the world in 2008.

Benchmark crude oil rebounded, gaining 56 cents to $54.18 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 45 cents to $53.62 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, picked up 41 cents to $59.30 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 107.87 Japanese yen from 107.73 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.0937 from $1.0934. /gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares mixed as investors look ahead to rate decisions

TOKYO – Asian shares were mixed Tuesday after a day of listless trading on Wall Street, as investors awaited signs on global interest rates.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 21,360.15 in morning trading.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% to 6,618.20, while South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.1% to 2,021.73.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up nearly 0.1% at 26,703.44, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4% to 3,012.03.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended virtually flat as losses in technology and health care stocks outweighed gains in financials and other sectors. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks, which has lagged the S&P 500 this year, outpaced the rest of the market.

Investors are taking a shine to smaller company stocks in hopes that they’ll be better shielded from the fallout of the costly trade war between the U.S. and China than large multinationals.


The S&P 500 inched 0.28 points lower, or less than 0.1%, to 2,978.43. The index, which has finished higher the past two weeks, is within 1.6% of its all-time high set in late July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.05 points, or 0.1%, to 26,835.51. The Nasdaq fell 15.64 points, or 0.2%, to 8,087.44. The Russell 2000 climbed 19.06 points, or 1.3%, to 1,524.23.

The broader market has bounced back the past two weeks following volatility brought on by the trade war as Washington and Beijing imposed new tariffs on more of each other’s imported goods. Investors worry the escalation of tariffs may be dampening global economic growth and threatening to nudge the United States into a recession.

Traders are hoping for a deal between the world’s two largest economies and were encouraged last week by news that talks will resume in October.

A mixed bag of economic data has also kept Wall Street focused on central banks and whether they will continue taking measures to shore up economic growth. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank doesn’t expect a recession and will take necessary actions to maintain growth.

Economists expect the Fed to cut interest rates when it meets next week.


Separately, the European Central Bank is expected to unveil new monetary stimulus measures on Thursday to help shore up the region’s economy.

“Markets look to be adrift ahead of the slew of events this week including the likes of the European Central Bank where further support for the markets is expected,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

“As far as the risk sentiment is concerned, the improvement carries forth from the previous week in anticipation of the various central bank meetings.”

ENERGY:

Benchmark crude oil rose 42 cents to $58.27 a barrel. It rose $1.33 to $57.85 a barrel Monday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 46 cents to $63.05 a barrel.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar rose to 107.39 Japanese yen from 106.96 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1046 from $1.1037. /gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian stocks follow Wall Street lower on trade war fears

BEIJING – Asian stock markets on Thursday followed Wall Street lower after President Donald Trump reignited trade fears by saying he could impose more tariffs on Chinese imports.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney all declined. Oil rebounded from the previous day’s losses.

Trump alarmed investors by saying he had $325 billion of Chinese imports available for additional tariffs “if we want.” That shook markets that had been reassured by Trump’s agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in June to hold off on new trade penalties while they resume negotiations.

The Chinese government warned tariff hikes would “create a new obstacle” in talks on ending their bruising fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions.

Trump’s comment “cast a dark cloud over lingering concerns on trade talk progress,” said Mizuho bank analysts in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6% to 2,913.49 and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.6% to 21,128.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.4% to 28,465.17 and Seoul’s Kospi was 0.2% lower at 2,066.94.


Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 6,655.60 and Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets also retreated. New Zealand gained.

On Wall Street, stocks extended their losses into a second day as railroad operator CSX had its biggest drop in 11 years, pulling other industrial companies down with it. CSX plunged 10.3% after saying it expects this year’s revenue to decline as much as 2%, after previously saying it expected growth.

Banks fell as investors worried lower interest rates will hurt profits. Investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates for the first time in a decade at their next policy meeting in two weeks.

Corporate earnings reports are getting into full swing this week, and investors have been mostly cautious in their assessments of them. Earnings are still expected to decline for S&P 500 companies in the second quarter.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 1 cent to $56.79 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 84 cents on Wednesday to close at $56.78. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 17 cents to $63.83 in London. It lost 69 cents the previous session to $63.66.

CURRENCY: The dollar declined to 107.73 yen from Wednesday’s 107.97 yen. The euro gained to $1.1239 from $1.1226./gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Shanghai leads gains in Asia as China-US talks resume

SINGAPORE — Mainland Chinese markets led Asian indexes higher on Friday, as the U.S. and China kicked off a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing.

The Shanghai Composite index advanced 2.9 percent to 3,081.11 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1 percent to 29,055.99.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6 percent to 2,140.67.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8 percent to 21,205.81.

The country’s retail sales fell slightly in February from a month earlier, preliminary data showed.

But industrial production rose 1.4 percent after a 3.4 percent decline in January.

The unemployment rate beat market expectations, falling to 2.3 percent in February from 2.5 percent in the previous month.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 percent higher to 6,180.70.

Shares rose in Taiwan and most of Southeast Asia.


U.S. negotiators, led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, attended a working dinner Thursday night with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is expected to travel to Washington next week.

The three of them posed for a photo at a government guesthouse before negotiations resumed on Friday but did not talk to reporters.

On Wall Street, traders shrugged off a discouraging announcement by the Commerce Department. It said U.S. economic growth had slowed sharply in the last three months of 2018 to an annual rate of just 2.2 percent, due to weakness in consumer spending, business investment, government spending and housing.

Most indexes finished higher, as bond yields rose and financial, technology and industrial stocks climbed.

The broad S&P 500 index was 0.4 percent higher at 2,815.44.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.4 percent to 25,717.46.

The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent to 7,669.17 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 0.8 percent to 1,535.10.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 31 cents to $59.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 11 cents to settle at $59.30 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, edged up 30 cents to $67.40 per barrel. The contract shed 14 cents to $67.10 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened to 110.68 yen from 110.63 yen. The euro rose to $1.1231 from $1.1221. /gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian stocks recover after news of US-China trade talk

Asia stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday, joining a global sell-off on concerns over Turkey’s financial crisis but later pared losses on news that China and the US would hold trade talks.

Equities across the region suffered steep losses at the opening bell, with Tokyo and Shanghai off by more than one percent, dragged down by a weak session on Wall Street as traders fretted over possible contagion from Turkey’s currency crisis.

Japan’s main Nikkei 225 index shed 1.20 percent in early trade and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite was off by 1.17 percent after another day of volatile trading driven by Turkey.


On Wednesday, Ankara hiked tariffs on imports of several US goods in retaliation for American sanctions, the latest step in a tit-for-tat spat between the two NATO allies that shows little sign of easing.

The crisis has sent the Turkish currency into free-fall and sparked concerns that European banks and other emerging markets exposed to the unit could also suffer.

A bearish mood saw European markets close down nearly two percent and the broad US S&P 500 market off by nearly one percent.

However, the lira managed to claw back some ground after losing just under a quarter of its value on Friday and Monday, a loss that had prompted fears of a fully-fledged economic crisis in the critical emerging economy.

And equities in Asia staged a fightback after news hit the wires of upcoming talks between the US and China, currently embroiled in a trade spat that economists warn could harm the global economy.

China’s Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen, the deputy representative on international trade negotiations, will meet with a senior US treasury official, David Malpass, at the invitation of the United States, the ministry in Beijing said in a statement.

Traders saw a glimmer of hope of a detente in the ongoing trade battle that has seen the two sides hit each other with reciprocal tariffs on goods worth $34 billion, with much more threatened.

The two countries plan to launch a new round of tariffs on $16 billion worth of goods from each country on August 23.



“It is hard to tell how the talks will go but it’s a positive signal that the two countries are looking for some compromise plan,” said Makoto Sengoku, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

“If they were determined to fight it out, they wouldn’t meet,” he told AFP.

A few hours into the trading session, the Nikkei was back in positive territory while markets in China and Hong Kong had almost erased all of their losses.

Key figures around 0300 GMT 

Dollar/Turkish lira: STABLE at 5.98 lira

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1381 from $1.1349

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2720 from $1.2700

Dollar/yen: UP at 110.86 from 110.73 yen

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.01 percent at 22,206.66

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,290.26

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,716.31

Oil – Brent Crude: UP 45 cents at $71.21 per barrel

Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 14 cents at $65.15 per barrel

New York – Dow Jones: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,162.41 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.5 percent at 7,497.87 (close)

/vvp

source: business.inquirer.net

Asia stocks advance ahead of Bank of England policy decision

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stock markets were higher Thursday ahead of the Bank of England’s upcoming announcement of its monetary policy decision.

KEEPING SCORE: After trading lower in the morning session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished 1.1 percent higher at 16,254.89. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3 percent to 2,000.03 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.6 percent to 21,872.54. China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to 2,982.43. Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets were higher.

UK WATCH: Bank of England is widely expected to unveil stimulus measures including a rate cut when it announces its monetary policy decision later Thursday after Asian markets close. Some analysts also expect the bank will announce the creation of billions in new money as early indicators since the U.K. referendum to leave the European Union suggest that the economy is contracting at its sharpest rate since 2009. Analysts expected increased volatility in the foreign exchange market ahead of the decision.

ANALYST’S TAKE: “The question is, not so much, if the BoE will ease policy, but rather how the BoE will choose to deliver policy easing,” Mizuho Bank wrote in a daily commentary. If the bank’s decision falls short of market expectations, “there is a risk of markets being disappointed.”

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday as the big gains in the price of oil boosted energy companies. The Dow Jones industrial average broke a seven-day losing streak and added 0.2 percent to 18,355. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.3 percent to 2,163.79. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 percent to 5,159.74.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude stayed flat at $40.83 per barrel in New York. The contract jumped $1.32, or 3.3 percent, to close at $40.83 on Wednesday after the U.S. government said stockpiles of gasoline shrank by more than 3 million barrels last week. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, dropped 21 cents to $42.89 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar strengthened to 101.36 yen from 101.28 yen while the euro fell to $1.1134 from $1.1148.

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian stock indexes mostly lower as oil prices sink

TOKYO  — Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday, as crude oil prices dipped and mainland Chinese markets were hit by sell-offs late in the day.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2 percent to finish at 16,906.54 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 percent to 5,216.00. But most other regional markets fell. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.3 percent to 2,005.83. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3 percent to 21,164.78, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 2.6 percent to 2,964.89, dipping by over 4 percent before recovering some of those losses.

OIL PRICES: Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.00, or 2.4 percent, to $41.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. At one point it fell by 2.8 percent to $41.30 a barrel. It rose 84 cents on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped $1.02 cents to $43.01 a barrel in London.

EUROPE FOCUS: The European Central Bank’s governing council is meeting, and investors are closely watching for what President Mario Draghi might say at the news conference later this week. Doubts persist whether the stimulus measures the bank has taken are really working, such as cutting interest rates and expanding a government bond-buying.

THE QUOTE: “Sentiments will be driven by the ECB President Draghi when he speaks,” said Alex Wijaya, senior sales trader at CMC Markets in Singapore. “In his previous speech, Mr. Draghi hinted that the deposit rate won’t be cut further into negative territory. However with persistent low inflation and the euro now trading at six-month highs, Mr. Draghi could possibly backtrack on his previous statement and consider a further rate cut to fight deflationary pressure.”

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian indexes little changed as Belgian attacks worries ease

TOKYO — Asian stock indexes fell Wednesday in cautious trading, following the deadly bombings in Belgium.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent to 17,000.98. South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.1 percent lower to 1,995.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7 percent to 20,524.41, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.5 percent to 2,983.86. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5 percent at 5,204.30. Southeast Asian markets were mostly lower.

ATTACK WOES: News of the attacks in Belgium, which killed at least 34 people, had pulled global markets lower, and airlines and travel companies continued to slip in Asia. Major Japanese carrier ANA fell 0.6 percent, while Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas Airways was down nearly 0.3 percent. HIS Co., a major Japanese travel company, slipped 2.3 percent.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 41.30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,582.57. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 1.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,049.80. The Nasdaq composite added 12.79 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,821.66.

THE QUOTE: “The Brussels explosions gave the market a shock yesterday,” said Margaret Yang Yan, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore. “This attack, together with a series of terrorist attacks believed to have been perpetrated by ISIS since last year, will have an impact on investors’ confidence.”

ENERGY: U.S. crude slipped 52 cents to $40.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 7 cents to $41.45 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, fell 38 cents to $41.41 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose slightly to $1.1206 from $ $1.1200, while the dollar rose to 112.34 yen from 111.65 yen. TVJ

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares edge up, brush off soft China data

TOKYO - Asian shares edged up on Monday in cautious trade, brushing off soft economic data from China, as investors looked to whether the US Federal Reserve is confident enough to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade.

US stock futures rose 0.4 percent from late US levels in early Asian trade while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3 percent.

Data published at the weekend showed growth in China's investment and factory output missed forecasts in August, raising the chances that China's third-quarter economic growth may dip below 7 percent for the first time since the global crisis.

The data add to expectations that Beijing will respond with more measures to prop up the economy.

"The numbers fit with our view that China will have to roll out more monetary easing," said Fumio Nakakubo, Japan CIO at UBS's wealth management division.

China's output of key industrial commodities including coal and steel weakened in August, as government measures to prevent smog from affecting World War Two commemorations further cut production already lowered by a slowing economy.

Slowing demand from China are likely to keep a tab on commodity prices.

Influential Wall Street trader Goldman Sachs cut its outlook on oil late last week, lowered its 2016 forecast for US crude to $45 a barrel from $57 previously, citing oversupply and concerns over China's economy.

The investment bank said crude could even fall to near $20 a barrel.

In early trade, US crude futures traded at $44.82, up 0.4 percent from last week's close after a 3.0 percent fall last week.

Still trading in most asset classes could be subdued as investors look to whether the US Fed will raise rates at its policy meeting on Sept 16-17.

"It is fair to say that the full spectrum of views is on offer. Clearly this is the most anticipated Fed meeting in a number of years," analysts at ANZ said in a report.

A small majority of forecasters are sticking to their guns and predicting the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger next week on the first US interest rate increase in nearly a decade.

Traders are pricing in smaller chance of a rate hike, however, suspecting the Fed may tread cautiously given the falls in equity markets and commodities in recent weeks.

"We think it is almost 50-50 whether the Fed will raise rates this week but we expect a rate hike by December on the grounds that the US economy is pretty strong," said UBS's Nakakubo.

In the currency market, the dollar was little changed against major currencies.

Against the yen, it traded at 120.67 yen. The euro stood little changed at $1.1342, holding on to last week's 1.8 percent gain. —Reuters

Asian shares resume slide on fears over Chinese economy

TOKYO - Asian stocks looked vulnerable to another sell-off on Tuesday, with investors gripped by fears of a hard landing for the Chinese economy, the world's most important growth engine.

Japan's Nikkei index fell 3.8 percent to six-month lows while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit fresh three-year lows.

Underlining concerns about China, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday he hoped China would take action to stabilize its economy and that Tokyo had no plan for now to unveil its own new economic stimulus package.

MSCI's all country world index fell 3.8 percent on Monday to a 10 1/2-month low, its biggest fall in almost four years. It has lost 9.2 percent over five days.

Leading the losses were Chinese shares, which plunged more than 8 percent to post their biggest losses since 2007 on heightened worries that the Chinese economy was growing at a much slower pace than Beijing's 7 percent target for 2015.

Investors are also unnerved by uncertainty over US monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has said it plans to raise interest rates this year for the first time in almost a decade.

The heavy fall in share prices worldwide over the past week has sharply reduced expectations of a US rate hike in September, but the outlook is far from clear.

"There seems to be no consensus with the Fed on whether they are worried about acting too prematurely or too late," Toru Yamamoto, chief bond strategist at Daiwa Securities, said in report.

The S&P 500 Index fell 3.9 percent to a 10-month low on Monday. The CBOE volatility index, a key measure of US equity volatility, shot up to more than 50 percent at one point for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Because some investors often fund their investment in risk assets by borrowing low-yielding euro and yen, the sell-off in shares helped send both currencies to seven-month highs.

The euro rose as high as $1.1715 and last stood at $1.1571 while the yen strengthened to 116.15 to the dollar before stepping back to 118.80.

The dollar was not helped by falls in US bond yields either, which diminishes the currency's yield attraction.

The 10-year US Treasuries yield fell to a four-month low of 1.905 percent in choppy trade on Monday and last stood at 2.012 percent.

Oil prices plunged more than 6 percent on Monday to 6 1/2-year lows after the dive in Chinese equities market.

US crude futures traded at $38.38 per barrel, near Monday's low of $37.75.

Brent crude futures fell to $42.23 on Monday and last stood at $42.69.

Brent stood not far from $36.20, its low hit in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, having fallen more than 66 percent from last year's peak.

Copper, a good indicator of global economic activity because of its wide use, declined to a six-year low of $4,855 a tonne, falling more than 52 percent from its 2011.

The fall in commodity prices have hurt many commodity exporting countries' currencies.

The Australian dollar traded at $0.7177, having fallen to a 6-1/2-year low of $0.7044 on Monday. —Reuters

Asia edgy on lingering growth worries, dollar up

TOKYO - Lingering concerns over global growth kept Asian stocks on a tentative footing on Wednesday, with more signs of gloom in the euro zone economy helping underpin the dollar.

The dollar extended gains after disappointing data out of Germany and Britain checked the euro's recent bounce.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.08 percent, but still not too far off a seven-month low hit at the start of the week.

Tokyo's Nikkei climbed 0.4 percent after touching a two-month trough on Tuesday.

Concerns over faltering global growth triggered a bruising selloff in global equity markets in the past week, and investors remain reluctant to buy into riskier assets as the drumbeat of weak data showed no signs of abating.

Overnight, a closely watched ZEW survey showed German analyst and investor morale fell below zero for the first time in nearly two years in October.

Adding to the gloom, the German government cut its growth forecasts, euro zone industrial production fell, British inflation slowed sharply in September and Fitch warned it may cut France's credit rating.

"Risk-off tone continues to dominate the markets as US equities pared most of the gains while Treasuries remain in demand," Credit Argricole said in a note to clients.

US Treasuries and German Bunds have rallied this week, with the yields on the latter hitting record lows on Tuesday after data reinforced fears the euro zone may be slipping into recession.

Wall Street put up a mixed performance overnight, reflecting the cautious mood in markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq booked modest gains to break a three-day string of sharp declines, but the Dow finished down for a fourth day.

The focus in markets is now on Chinese inflation-related data due at 0130 GMT with weaker-than-expected numbers potentially souring still fragile sentiment towards risk assets.

The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's strength against a basket of major currencies, was up 0.1 percent at 85.941 as the downbeat data took a toll on the euro.

The dollar was up 0.3 percent at 107.33 yen, having pulled back from a one-month low of 106.68 hit the previous day.

The euro traded little changed at $1.2644

In commodities, US crude bounced slightly after posting its biggest percentage loss in about two years overnight on a downgrade in global oil consumption forecasts, projections for another big boost in shale oil and reluctance by OPEC members to cut output.

US crude was up 44 cents at $82.28 a barrel, although mounting evidence of slackening demand and unrelenting US shale output are expected to keep applying downward pressure on the commodity in the mid- to long-term. —Reuters