Investing.com - Asian shares fell on Tuesday in line with a global decline led by falling oil prices and fears about the European economy, withh stocks in Japan leading losses.
The Nikkei 225 fell 2.6%, hit hard as a stronger yen overnight hurt many Japanese exporters who suffer when the domestic currency rises. The Australian benchmark index, which is particularly sensitive to commodity prices, fell 1.8%.
Those moves followed a 1.9% slide in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and as U.S.-traded crude oil fell below $50 a barrel for the first time in nearly six years. WTI crude oil was last at $50.19 in Asia trade.
The slide in Asia comes amid forecasts by economists that lower oil prices will eventually benefit countries from India to Indonesia, as their infrastructure buildup will have heavy energy needs. But manufacturing activity in the region hasn't gotten a meaningful lift from the fall in oil prices, with Chinese manufacturing activity contracting, and with markets more sensitive to global market moves.
The U.S. dollar was weaker against the yen, at ¥119.29 from ¥119.64 late Monday in New York. A weaker dollar hurts Japanese exporters repatriating dollar revenues from overseas.
Even mainland Chinese stocks were drawn into the regional selloff. The Shanghai Composite Index, which has been shielded from global worries in recent months by capital controls and an investor base dominated by retail investors, was off by 0.1%.
HSBC's latest reading on Chinese services activity showed an improvement in December.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was off by 1.0%.
Overnight, United States stocks were lower after the close on Monday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.86%, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.82%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.57%.
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Shares in Asia drop on global cues of low oil prices, euro woes
Published 01/05/2015, 11:42 PM
Updated 01/05/2015, 11:44 PM
Shares in Asia drop on global cues of low oil prices, euro woes
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