Asian Market Review - 13th of August 2019

Asian markets are sliding broadly lower Tuesday morning, following the overnight losses from Wall Street as political unrest in Hong Kong and Argentina has combined with trade woes to send bond yields plunging as risk aversion grips markets.

Japanese investors have returned from a holiday extended weekend to send the Nikkei 1.3% lower and lead losses across the Asian region. Investors are reacting to the stronger Yen, which has put pressure on Japanese exporter shares. Toyota and Sony are both 1.1% lower, and Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing has a 1% loss.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 is trying to buck the falling trend, trading back and forth over unchanged levels. The big four banks are modestly lower for the most part, although Westpac has a 0.3% gain. Major miners are recovering from losses in the prior session, with BHP 0.6% higher and Rio Tinto adding 0.7%. Gold miner shares are lower despite overnight gains from the precious metal, while energy plays are edging higher.

Mainland China has opened to losses brought on by the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. The Shanghai Composite has a 0.6% loss at the open, and the smaller cap Shenzhen Composite is 0.7% lower. Over in Hong Kong the Hang Seng has opened to a 1.1% loss a day after protestors caused the Hong Kong airport to shut down temporarily.

In South Korea the Kospi is trading 0.5% lower, while Taiwan’s Taiex is 0.6% lower.

Southeast Asian markets also trade lower, with Singapore’s Straits Times off by 1% and the KLCI in Malaysia down 0.9%.