TOKYO - Asian equities tracked Wall Street’s slide on Wednesday, while investors switched to safe-haven government bonds, driven by fears that global growth will suffer as a potential trade deal between the United States and China appeared to be unraveling.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.75 percent, stooping to its lowest level since late March.Australian stocks declined 0.6 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.5 percent and Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.6 percent. “From an equity market perspective, the immediate focus is on the two-day talks scheduled to take place between the U.S. and Chinese officials,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.
Benchmark 10-year yields on U.S. Treasuries, German bunds and Japanese government bonds sank to one-month lows.In currency markets, the dollar declined for the fourth day and touched a six-week low of 110.09 yen. The New Zealand dollar was down 0.5 percent at $0.6560 after the country’s central bank cut interest rates to 1.5 percent from 1.75 percent on Wednesday. The kiwi had earlier dropped to $0.6525, its lowest since November 2018.The Aussie was on the front foot after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 1.5 percent on Tuesday, defying expectations for a cut.
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