Stocks in Asia traded down Wednesday morning after an overnight plunge on Wall Street as investors worried about a potential economic slowdown.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.37 percent minutes after the open while the Topix shed 1.48 percent. The losses were also seen in South Korea, where the Kospi declined by 1.24 percent.
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 1.31 percent in morning trade, with almost all sectors trading lower. The country is set to release its third quarter gross domestic product data at 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
Banking and financial stocks in the region sold off, taking cues from the U.S.
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 1.87 percent while Nomura declined by 2.66 percent. South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group slipped 0.83 percent.
Australia’s financial subindex was down 1.76 percent as shares of the so-called Big Four banks declined: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group shed 1.44 percent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia declined 1.72 percent, Westpac traded down 1.62 percent while National Australia Bank lost 1.39 percent.
The mainland Chinese markets, closely watched in relation to Beijing’s trade spat with Washington, are set to open at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
The Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures economic activity in China’s services sector, is due 15 minutes after the market open.
Stocks sold off overnight on Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 799.36 points, or 3.1 percent, to close at 25,027.07 — its worst day since Oct. 10. The S&P 500 shed 3.2 percent to close at 2,700.06 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.8 percent to end the trading day back in correction territory at 7,158.43. Trading volume in U.S. stocks was also higher than usual on Wall Street.
The yield on the three-year Treasury note surpassed its five-year counterpart on Monday. When a so-called yield curve inversion happens — short-term yields trading above longer-term rates — a recession could follow, though it is often years away after the signal triggers.
Stocks began falling to their lows of the day after Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of Doubleline Capital, told Reuters this inversion signals that the economy “is poised to weaken.”
The CBOE Volatility Index, popularly known as the VIX, leaped about 26.16 percent to 20.74. The VIX measures implied volatility on S&P 500 index options. It had earlier hit a high of 21.94 — its highest levels since Nov. 23 when it touched a high of 22.65.
Beyond concerns over the inversion in the yield curve, uncertainty surrounding the details of the agreement struck between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires weighed on investor sentiment.
The two economic powerhouses have been locked in an ongoing trade war, which has continued to rock global markets for much of 2018.
The U.S. and China agreed over the weekend to hold off on any additional tariffs on each other’s goods on Jan. 1, so that trade talks can continue. But discrepancies over when that truce would begin has led to confusion, with conflicting messages coming from within the White House as well as differing opinions from Trump, Washington and Beijing over the actual details of the agreement.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 96.965 after seeing an earlier high of 97.128.
The Japanese yen, widely viewed as a safe-haven currency, traded at 112.78 against the dollar after strengthening from lows above 113.5 yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.7347 after touching highs around $0.739 in the previous session.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert and Christina Wilkie contributed to this report.
