Asian shares droop, yen gains as Korean tensions rise

TOKYO - Asian shares slumped on Tuesday while the dollar remained off recent highs against the yen against the backdrop of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea's foreign minister said on Monday that a weekend tweet by President Donald Trump counted as a declaration of war on North Korea and that Pyongyang reserved the right to take countermeasures, including shooting down US bombers even if they are not in its air space.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent in early trade, following losses on Wall Street.

Australian shares were up 0.1 percent, while South Korean shares were 0.3 percent down.

Japan's Nikkei stock index sagged 0.2 percent, pressured by a stronger yen.

"In addition to North Korea, the stronger yen is affecting shares today, and there's also Apple's poor performance, after the report that it told suppliers to reduce parts shipments," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

Apple Inc shed 0.9 percent on Monday after it was reported the company had told suppliers to scale back shipments of parts for its upcoming iPhone X.

The dollar was slightly down against the yen at 111.70 and well shy of last week's two-month high of 112.725.

The yen tends to benefit during times of risk aversion due to Japan's net creditor status and the expectation that Japanese investors would repatriate assets when facing a crisis.

The euro edged up after tumbling on Monday following a severely diminished election victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel that was accompanied by a surge in support for the far right.

Support for Merkel's conservatives unexpectedly slumped to its lowest since 1949 and the Social Democrats, partners in the outgoing coalition, said they would go into opposition.

The single currency was 0.1 percent higher at $1.1856 , while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.1 percent at 92.601.

Later on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak on "Prospects for Growth: Reassessing the Fundamentals" at 1645 GMT.

On Monday, New York Fed President William Dudley said the US central bank is on track to gradually raise rates given factors depressing inflation are "fading" and the US economy's fundamentals are sound.

But Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the Fed should wait until there are clear signs of faster wage and price growth before hiking rates again.

Crude oil prices gave back some of their gains after soaring more than 3 percent on Monday, with Brent hitting its highest in more than two years. Major producers said the global market was on its way to rebalancing, while Turkey threatened to cut oil flows from Iraq's Kurdistan region to its ports.

US crude eased 0.2 percent to $52.12 a barrel, after touching its highest levels since April on Monday. Brent crude edged up 0.1 percent to $59.10, after scaling its highest peak overnight since July, 2015. —Reuters

Asian markets lower, rattled by rising tensions in Koreas

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stocks were lower on Friday as investors fretted over rising geopolitical tensions and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Many markets were closed for public holidays.

KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 finished 0.5 percent lower at 18,335.63 and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.6 percent to 2,134.88. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.9 percent to 3,246.07. Markets in Hong Kong, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries were closed.

NORTH KOREA: Analysts said investors were seeking safe havens on concern North Korea may be planning a nuclear test. As it prepares for the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung on Saturday, North Korean has intensified its rhetoric, warning of strong retaliation against any aggression as U.S.-South Korea hold military exercises.

ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “Geopolitics seemed to dominate over the past week with the ramifications of the U.S.’ missile strike on Syria still reverberating and tensions around North Korea steadily building,” Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital, said in a commentary. “The issues around Syria are likely to settle down assuming U.S. involvement does not escalate, but North Korea is more risky.”

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks finished lower for the third straight day on Thursday as energy stocks led the decline. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 0.7 percent to 2,328.95. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.7 percent to 20,453.25. The Nasdaq composite index lost 0.5 percent to 5,805.15. U.S. markets will be closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday.

OIL: On Friday, the New York Mercantile Exchange and the London Metal Exchange were closed. On Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude rose 7 cents to close at $53.18 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 3 cents to close at $55.89 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar resumed its fall after briefly bouncing back from its slide. The dollar has continued its slide following President Donald Trump’s comment in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the dollar was “getting too strong.” The dollar was trading at 108.93 yen, down from 109.12 yen. The euro rose slightly to $1.0620 from $1.0616.

source: business.inquirer.net

China, US pledge joint efforts on Korea crisis

BEIJING - The top Chinese and US diplomats pledged Saturday to work together to resolve the crisis on the Korean peninsula, where tensions are at fever pitch and Pyongyang has threatened nuclear war.

"To properly address the Korean nuclear issue serves the common interests of all parties," China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi said ahead of a formal dinner with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry.

"It is also the shared responsibility of all parties," added Yang, who is in charge of Beijing's foreign policy. "China will work with other relevant parties including the United States to play a constructive role," he said.

Neither official gave details of any concrete measures that had been agreed. But Kerry said they would have "further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal".

China has backed North Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953 and is its sole major ally and the provider of the vast majority of its trade and aid.

Kerry earlier pressed Beijing to use its leverage with Pyongyang to try to calm the crisis.

"China and the United States must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula," he said.

Yang said: "Both China and the United States are now confronted with a complex and volatile international situation."  — Agence France Presse

source: gmanetwork.com