Shares fell on Thursday in Asia after further losses on Wall Street following a Federal Reserve report showing U.S. economic activity slowed this summer.
The report noted cases of resurgent coronaviruses and the growing supply chain problem and labor shortages, problems that affect many economies. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney.
Japan extended its emergency measures to combat COVID-19 outbreaks until the end of September, as the number of new cases has been slowly declining, affecting the healthcare system.
Chinese markets have been horrified by other government measures to tighten controls on online businesses that thrived during the pandemic.
In another case, rating agencies say the Evergrande group, one of China’s largest real estate developers, seems increasingly likely to default on its debts after reports that it will delay interest payments on bank loans. The company sells cash-raising assets and faces complaints that it has taken time to pay contractors and deliver projects to customers.
Rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch this week downgraded their ratings on Evergrande’s debt to a level that indicates the company is likely to default on bond payments for lack of cash. Chinese authorities are trying to reduce high levels of debt in the economy and have urged Evergrande to settle its debts of more than $ 300 billion, but financial analysts suggest they could allow default while trying to reduce its impact on the system. financial.
Nikkei 225 NIK from Tokyo,
fell 0.5%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng HSI,
lost 1.2%, while the Shanghai SHCOMP composite index,
bordered 0.1% lower. In Sydney, the S & P / ASX 200 XJO,
decreased by 1.2% and the Kospi 180721,
in Seoul it fell by 0.9%. Shares fell in Taiwan in 1999,
but increased in Singapore ITS,
FBMKLCI of Malaysia,
and Indonesia JAKIDX,
Ten-year Treasury bill yields fell to 1.33% after rising sharply on Tuesday to 1.37%.
The latest Federal Reserve survey on the nation’s business conditions, called the “Beige Book,” said U.S. economic activity “went down” in July and August.
The Fed said the slowdown was largely attributed to a decline in catering, travel and tourism in most parts of the country, reflecting concerns about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
The S&P 500 SPX,
fell 5.96 points to 4,514.07, 0.5% below the all-time high of the index set last Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
fell 0.2% to 35,031.07, and the Nasdaq COMP composite
it slipped 0.6% to 2,249.73. The decline in the technology index ended with a winning four-day streak.
Investors could be in a turbulent market until September as they oversee the Federal Reserve and Washington, which have to deal with budget reconciliation, infrastructure spending and the debt ceiling.
On the positive side, U.S. employers posted record job offers for the second month in a row in July, according to the Department of Labor. The disconnect between the growing number of job offers and the weak recovery in employment levels suggests that the issue of employment could be reducing the wider economic recovery.
In other commercial operations, US reference crude oil CLV21,
rose 5 cents to $ 68.35 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 95 cents on Wednesday, to $ 69.30 a barrel.
Brent cru BRNX21,
the international benchmark in terms of prices, rose 9 cents to $ 72.69 per barrel.
The US Dollar USDJPY,
fell to 110.16 Japanese yen from 110.25 yen.