Investing.com - Stocks in Asia traded to the downside during Monday’s Asian session as U.S. political tensions loomed large and after the World Bank lowered its growth outlook for China and other emerging Asian economies.
In Asian trading Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.03%. Japanese stocks, among the better developed market performers in the world this year, came under pressure as traders bid the yen higher in an effort to find a safe-haven alternative to the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. government is in the midst of its first shutdown in 17 years and with the political environment in Washington, D.C. growing more contentious, traders are stepping away from some riskier currencies while searching for safe-haven alternatives to the greenback, putting the kiwi in a precarious spot in the process.
Markets were also mulling over how the political deadlock in Washington will impact on negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.75%. The World Bank forecast economic growth of 7.1% this year and 7.2% next year for emerging Asian economies, down from prior estimates of 7.8% and 7.6%, respectively.
The World Bank lowered its outlook on Chinese GDP growth to 7.5%, down from 8.3% and below the 7.5% the International Monetary Fund previously forecast. China’s 2014 GDP is forecast at 7.7% by the World Bank, down from a prior estimate of 8%.
Markets in Australia are closed Monday for a holiday. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 inched down 0.01%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.01%.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.16% as the won trades near eight-month highs. Global investors have purchased more South Korean shares than they have sold every day since Aug. 22, Bloomberg reported. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.49%.
In Asian trading Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.03%. Japanese stocks, among the better developed market performers in the world this year, came under pressure as traders bid the yen higher in an effort to find a safe-haven alternative to the U.S. dollar.
The U.S. government is in the midst of its first shutdown in 17 years and with the political environment in Washington, D.C. growing more contentious, traders are stepping away from some riskier currencies while searching for safe-haven alternatives to the greenback, putting the kiwi in a precarious spot in the process.
Markets were also mulling over how the political deadlock in Washington will impact on negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.75%. The World Bank forecast economic growth of 7.1% this year and 7.2% next year for emerging Asian economies, down from prior estimates of 7.8% and 7.6%, respectively.
The World Bank lowered its outlook on Chinese GDP growth to 7.5%, down from 8.3% and below the 7.5% the International Monetary Fund previously forecast. China’s 2014 GDP is forecast at 7.7% by the World Bank, down from a prior estimate of 8%.
Markets in Australia are closed Monday for a holiday. New Zealand’s NZSE 50 inched down 0.01%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.01%.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.16% as the won trades near eight-month highs. Global investors have purchased more South Korean shares than they have sold every day since Aug. 22, Bloomberg reported. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.49%.