Asian shares, yuan on fragile ground on the specter of the Sino-US trade war

Asian stocks were on unstable ground Wednesday as the Chinese yuan was close to lows of 11 months as the specter of a Sino-US trade war haunted investors before the end of the week.

The MSCI's Asia Pacific broadest index outside Japan rose slightly by 0.1 percent at the beginning of the period, one day after reaching its lowest point level in nine months. The Japanese Nikkei lost 0.5 percent

Wall Street dropped Tuesday, dropping the first gains in a truncated session before Independence Day Wednesday, while tech stocks were under pressure just one day after their strong start to the quarter Monday

The S & P 500 lost 0.49% while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.86%

Facebook has lost 2.3% after the Washington Post reported a federal data breach investigation. Cambridge Analytica was expanded while Tesla fell 7.2 percent on whether it could support the manufacturing pace of its Model 3 sedans.

Micron Technology Inc. fell 5.5 percent after its competitor, United Microelectronics Corp 2303. TW, said that it has received a temporary injunction banning flea sales in mainland China.

In the wake of escalating tensions between the United States and China on tariffs and investments the injunction triggered the sale in d & # 39; other chip manufacturers in the United States.

"We have Micron's problem at a time when technology shares have begun to lose momentum after their excellent performance this year. If we see other profit taking in the sector, it would be worrisome given their heavy weighting in major indices, "said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, chief strategist at Mizuho Securities.

SMC Corp., maker of machines for chip manufacturing, lost 6.5%, while Advantest, maker of chip inspection machines, lost 5.6%.

Many investors fear that Washington will charge $ 34 billion in fees. On July 6, Beijing promised to match tariffs on US products, increasing the risk of a real trade war

The yuan remained under pressure

The Chinese currency fell to 6,6715 dollars per dollar in Asian trade, down from the 11-month low of 6,7344 reached Tuesday after the central bank of China became calm. China's governor, Yi Gang, said in a statement on Tuesday that the central bank is closely monitoring currency market fluctuations and that it will strive to keep the yuan stable and reasonable.

The Thomson Reuters The HKEX Global CNH Index, which tracks daily the offshore yuan against a basket of currencies, has lost more than 3% over the past two weeks.

On the other hand, the Mexican peso jumped 2.6%, its biggest gain of more than a day in over two years, on soothing comments from the newly elected left-wing president of country that it will not increase spending.

Major currencies trod the water as traders worried Washington and the rest of the world

The euro has little changed at $ 1,1658, keeping gains after the German coalition settled the migration crisis that threatened to overthrow Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. The dollar has changed hands at 110.56 yen

Oil prices have been supported by a larger-than-expected decline in US stocks at the American Petroleum Institute, which has cast doubt on the shortage of oil. # 39; s supply.

U.S. Standard futures on light crude increased 0.6 percent to $ 74.62 a barrel, after crossing the $ 75 mark for the first time in more than three years on Tuesday.

The Brent reference price remained stable at $ 77.77. reached its lowest level in nine months on Tuesday because of fears that trade frictions could slow global growth. It traded for the last time at $ 6,521, up 0.5% on the day but still close to Tuesday's low of $ 6,490.