BANGKOK –
Asian stocks fell on Friday after a pullback on Wall Street as escalating concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine roiled global financial markets.
Benchmarks are moderately lower in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul and Sydney.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 2.1%, its biggest drop in two weeks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8% and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.9%. The losses wiped out the weekly gains in major indexes.
The wave of selling came as President Joe Biden warned that Russia, which is believed to have built around 150,000 military forces near the Ukrainian border, could invade within days. Officials race to find a solution but suspicions between East and West appear to be only growing, as NATO allies reject Russia’s assertions that they are withdrawing troops from exercises that have raised fears of a potential conflict. attack.
The Ukraine crisis has dogged the markets for weeks, adding to the volatility in the market. Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, said Russia is a major energy producer and if it invades Ukraine and other governments respond with economic sanctions, that could hinder access to about 7% of the global energy market.
“Without any clear resolution in the near-term, uncertainty over a potential invasion is enough to keep market participants away from risky assets,” said IG’s Yeap Jun Rong. risk, while rushing to safe havens.”
Japan reported on Friday that its core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2 percent in January, well below its decade-high figure. century is seen in most major economies and is well below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.5% to 27,094.16, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.6% to 24,647.07. Kospi in Seoul lost 0.1% to 2,739.93. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% to 7,249.50.
The Shanghai Composite Index was mostly unchanged at 3,468.83.
About 85% of stocks in the benchmark S&P 500 index closed lower on Thursday. It fell 94.75 points to 4,380.26 and is now 8.7% below the all-time high it set on January 3.
The Dow fell 622.24 points to 34,312.03, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 407.38 points to 13,716.72.
Shares of small companies also fell broadly. The Russell 2000 index rose 2.5% to 2,028.09.
The technology sector is the biggest drag on the index, along with media stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Microsoft fell 2.9%, Facebook parent company Meta fell 4.1% and Nike fell 2.5%.
But some companies do well thanks to high earnings. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, rose 4% after reporting strong fourth-quarter financial results. Cisco Systems, which makes routers, rose 2.8% after raising its profit forecast for the year.
Bond yields fell, dragging banks down with them. Yields on the 10-year Treasury note fell from 2.04% to 1.97% late Wednesday. Bank of America fell 3.4%.
Gold prices, traditionally a safe-haven during times of geopolitical uncertainty, rose 1.6 percent.
Tensions over Ukraine have put investors on edge as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to combat persistently rising inflation, which has surged to a 40-year high.
Companies have had to deal with supply chain problems and higher costs by raising the price of finished products for consumers. Many have also warned investors that inflation will destroy their profits, sales and overall operations.
So far, consumers are unlikely to pull back on spending due to higher prices. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 3.8% in January as the threat of the omicron variant of COVID-19 faded.
In another session on Friday, benchmark US crude lost 67 cents to $91.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 2% on Thursday, while the price of natural gas fell 4.9%.
Brent crude, the international pricing benchmark, lost 52 cents to $92.45 a barrel.
The US dollar rose to 115.16 Japanese yen from 114.93 yen. The euro rose to $1.1372 from $1.1365.
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AP Business writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.
