Asian Stocks Slide After Wall Street Retreat Amid Bank Sector Concerns
Asian markets fell sharply on Friday, following a broad retreat on Wall Street driven by concerns over the health of US regional banks’ loan portfolios and rising political uncertainty in Japan.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% to 47,603.57, mirroring overnight US losses. Sentiment was further dampened by political uncertainty surrounding the choice of Japan’s next prime minister. Conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi was elected to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, but the collapse of its coalition with Komeito last week has raised questions about her ability to secure parliamentary support in an upcoming vote.
Across China, shares extended losses amid escalating trade tensions with Washington. The Hang Seng Index slumped 2% to 25,368.97, while the Shanghai Composite fell 1.6% to 3,852.04, as traders remained cautious ahead of economic data due Monday and a key Communist Party leadership meeting next week.
Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.2% to 3,754.28 after data showed the unemployment rate declined to 2.5% in September, down from 2.6% in August, supporting optimism around the labour market and ongoing US-Korea trade talks.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.8% to 8,993.80, retreating from Thursday’s record high as energy and tech stocks led declines. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.9%, while India’s Sensex edged up 0.2%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 45,952.24, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 6,629.08, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5% to 22,562.54.
In bond markets, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries eased to 3.976%, from 4.045% late Wednesday, as investors rotated back into safe-haven assets.
