Asian stock exchanges extend global decline on trade intensification, US $ faltering – Business News

TOKYO (Reuters) – Stock market tensions between the United States and other major economies have continued to drive investors away from riskier assets, raising the stakes of the United States and keeping the dollar on the defensive .

Stocks in Asia drew inspiration from Wall Street, where the S & P 500 and Nasdaq suffered their biggest losses in more than two months overnight.

US technology stocks have been particularly affected. Flea makers who derive a large portion of their revenue from China were beaten, a report released Monday by the US Treasury Department that reduced the brakes that would block companies with at least 25% of Chinese to buy companies American technologies.

In addition to trade talks with China, the United States has recently raised the bar by challenging the European Union by threatening to impose tariffs on cars imported from the bloc.

The broadest MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks fell 0.1%.

The Japanese Nikkei lost 0.8%, the Korean KOSPI 0.55% and the Australian shares 0.6%.

"The increasingly belligerent commercial rhetoric that the United States employs could begin to influence the economy by cooling investor sentiment and reducing corporate capital spending," said Masahiro Ichikawa, strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui. Asset Management.

"It turns out to be a long-term bearish for the financial markets because it is unlikely that the United States will recede at least through its mid-term elections."

The dollar index versus a basket of six major currencies changed little at 94.302 after plunging 0.25% overnight, before dropping for the fourth consecutive time.

The greenback has come under pressure as long – term yields in the US Treasury have fallen to lows of one week due to heightened risk aversion on the financial markets.

The euro hovered just below an 11-day high of $ 1.1713 slashed overnight against the dollar's dip.

The US currency was down 0.2% at 109,525 yen, after falling to 109,365 on Monday, its lowest level of the last two weeks. The yen often attracts bids in times of political turmoil and market turmoil.

Brent crude oil futures increased 0.3% to $ 74.95. Contracts had slipped 1% overnight, as appetite for investors' risk of decline weighed on commodities.

Oil prices fell after OPEC and its allies agreed Friday to increase global supplies, albeit modestly. – Reuters