Shares in the Asia-Pacific dropped sharply on Wednesday after indexes on Wall Street plunged following a higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price index report for August.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.46%, and the Topix index fell 1.81%. The Japanese yen traded at 144.38 per dollar, hovering around its weakest levels since September 1998.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 2.55%, and the Hang Seng Tech index fell 2.96%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 2.48%.
The Kospi in South Korea lost 1.65% and the Kosdaq declined 1.9%. The South Korean won passed the 1,390-mark against the greenback and was the last trading at 1,391.98 against the dollar, around the weakest levels since March 2009.
Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.02% and the Shenzhen Component fell 1.496%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.28%.
| TICKER | COMPANY | NAME | PRICE | CHANGE | %CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .N225 | Nikkei 225 Index | *NIKKEI | 27904.48 | -710.15 | -2.48 |
| .HSI | Hang Seng Index | *HSI | 18834.63 | -492.23 | -2.55 |
| .AXJO | S&P/ASX 200 | *ASX 200 | 6839.7 | -170 | -2.43 |
| .SSEC | Shanghai | *SHANGHAI | 3230.49 | -33.31 | -1.02 |
| .KS11 | KOSPI Index | *KOSPI | 2412.97 | -36.57 | -1.49 |
| .FTFCNBCA | CNBC 100 ASIA IDX | *CNBC 100 | 7600.5 | -261.84 | -3.33 |
The U.S. 2-year Treasury yield also reached 3.79%, the highest level since 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,276.37 points, or 3.94%, to close at 31,104.97. The S&P 500 shed 4.32% to 3,932.69, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.16% to end the session at 11,633.57.
“What is perhaps most disconcerting in all this is that the strength in core inflation is very much service sector-led categories,” said Ray Attrill, National Australia Bank’s head of FX strategy, wrote in a note, adding the sector is primarily wage inflation-driven.
Source: CNBC
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