SINGAPORE — Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded lower Friday morning as stocks on Wall Street fell overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 0.11% in early trade while the Topix index slipped 0.15%. South Korea’s Kospi also declined 0.32%.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.73%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.29% lower.
Tech shares regionally watched
Technology shares regionally were mixed in Friday morning trade, after their counterparts on Wall Street slipped again overnight amid a recent downward trend.
In Japan, shares of conglomerate Softbank Group fell 1.14% while Sharp dropped 2.85%. Over in South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock dip 0.17%. SK Hynix, on the other hand, advanced 0.52%.
Overnight stateside, the major stock averages stateside also saw losses on the day by their close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89, or 1.45%, to 27,534.58. The S&P 500 slid 1.8% to 3,339.19 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% to 10,919.59.
Meanwhile, geopolitical developments also likely weighed on investor sentiment, amid a recent rise in tensions between the U.K. and EU.
“Its looking more and more like (U.K.) Prime Minister Boris Johnson will push for a hard Brexit,” Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at BK Asset Management, wrote in a Sept. 10 note.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 93.334 after an earlier bounce from levels around 92.8.
The Japanese yen traded at 106.12 per dollar after changing hands at levels below 105.9 against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar was at $0.7261 after falling yesterday from levels above $0.73.
Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.47% to $39.87 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.35% to $37.17 per barrel.
What’s on tap:
- Malaysia: Industrial production for July
Source: CNBC