Asian markets open sharply after the fall of Wall Street

The sharp declines across Asia have "not been worse than expected," analysts said.

The ASX 200 Australian benchmark dropped nearly 2% immediately after opening Thursday morning in Asia. Others have followed suit: the Japanese Nikkei and Topix, the Hong Kong Hang Seng index, and then the Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Index have all lost more than 3% .

But Taiwan's benchmark posted the worst performance, dropping nearly 5 percent to its lowest level in 16 months.

"As most Asian equity markets are now open, the situation looks bleak – even if only unexpectedly, and not worse," said Mark Cudmore, macro strategist for Bloomberg based in Singapore.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 800 points Wednesday, one of the worst sales since February, as traders rushed to sell stocks that boosted the US economy. Netflix was down more than 8%, Amazon by 6% and Apple and Google by more than 4.5%.

This reflected investors' fear that the Federal Reserve would continue to raise interest rates, which would slow down economic growth and make borrowing more expensive for the US government, as well as for businesses and consumers.

"The sale yesterday in the US market last night was scary and revived the memory of similar trading sessions earlier this year," said Medha Samant, investment director for Asian equities at Fidelity International, in a note Thursday morning, according to the financial daily. Time. "[It is] It is likely that this negative sentiment could affect Asian markets in the short term, "she wrote.

[[[[Dow loses more than 800 points as investors fear rate hike ]

President Trump strongly criticized the Fed on Wednesday for tightening its rates, again indicating that he wanted interest rates to remain low.

"The Fed is making a mistake. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy, "he told reporters during a trip to Pennsylvania on Wednesday. "This is a correction we have been waiting for a long time. But I really do not agree with what the Fed does, okay?

The concern was already great, thanks to the trade war between China and the United States, which shows no signs of an upcoming resolution.

There were more signs of tension in China-United States. economic relationship.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned China against the "competitive devaluation" of its currency against the US dollar, as the trade war intensified.

The Chinese renminbi has dropped "significantly" during the year and the Treasury Department is carefully monitoring this situation to ensure that China does not manipulate its currency to gain an advantage in the trade war, Mnuchin said. at the Financial Times in an interview.

He said that he wanted to discuss the currency with Beijing in the context of trade negotiations. "When we look at trade issues, there is no doubt that we want to make sure that China does not make competitive devaluations," he told the business paper.

In addition, the Treasury Department has issued new rules on foreign investment in US companies, reinforcing its blocking power for reasons of national security. China has been the main target of these rules.

This lingering friction is likely to stifle markets for some time, analysts said.

"While uncertainty persists in financial markets around the world, many investors remain on the sidelines until clarifications are made to the US Treasury and China markets," said Yasuo Sakuma. Director of Investments at Libra Investments, according to Reuters.

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