Asian Market Review - 15th of August 2019

Asian markets fell broadly on Thursday in response to the U.S. Treasury yield curve inverting overnight, giving a strong signal of a potential U.S. recession.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 led losses in the region, dropping 2.3% as the big four banks plunged in response to the inversion of the U.S. yield curve. ANZ Bank is 2.6% lower, and NAB is matching that loss. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a 2.2% loss and Westpac Bank has fallen 2.8%. Major miners are also falling, with both BHP and Rio Tinto trading down by 2.4%.

Mainland China has also opened to losses, with the Shanghai Composite falling 1.1% and the smaller cap Shenzhen Composite losing 1.3%, even as the People’s Bank of China have fixed the Yuan at a level stronger than 7 for the first time in five sessions. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng has a 0.7% loss as protests have remained quiet on the island for the past two sessions.

Japan’s Nikkei has dropped 1.5% in the morning and heads into the afternoon looking at further losses as the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond drops to historic lows. Shares of Sony are 1.1% lower and Fast Retailing has fallen 1.8%.

In South Korea the Kospi is unchanged as markets remain closed for Liberation Day. Taiwan’s Taiex is 1% lower as it is also falling on recession fears.

In Southeast Asia Singapore’s Straits Times Index is leading losses as it falls 1.4%, while the KLCI in Malaysia has lost 1.1% and the Jakarta Composite in Indonesia has a 0.9% loss