– Asian stocks fell on Wednesday after US lawmakers called for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, increasing the prospects of prolonged political uncertainty in the world’s largest economy.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.82%, Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.63%, while Australian shares fell 0.60%. “The impeachment probe has put a dent in Asian shares,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co in Tokyo. The push for an impeachment inquiry and disappointing US economic data weighed on Wall Street on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 0.84% lower, its biggest daily decline in a month.
However, the development injects fresh uncertainty into financial markets, which have already been heavily jostled by emerging global political risks in recent years. Sterling traded at $1.2473, down 0.2%, having trimmed some of its overnight gains made following the UK court ruling.