Asian shares declined on Monday after a short-lived armed uprising in Russia raised uncertainties over the war in Ukraine. Benchmarks declined in Tokyo, Sydney Hong Kong and Shanghai, but rose in Seoul. A mutiny by mercenaries, who had briefly captured a Russian military headquarters on an ominous march towards Moscow, was over. But in no time President Vladimir Putin was weakened as his forces faced a fierce counteroffensive in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner troops were some of Russia’s most effective fighters in Ukraine. His aborted takeover of the capital also left his fate uncertain. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost nearly 0.3 percent to close at 32,698.81. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 2,582.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2 percent at 18,853.18, while the Shanghai Composite, which reopened after the holiday, fell 1.5 percent to 3,150.62. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 7,078.70.
Wall Street recorded its first losing week in the past six on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent to 4,348.33, retreating further from last week when it hit its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent to 33,727.43 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1 percent to 13,492.52.
“We have a slowing US economy, a slowing global economy, all with hyperinflation and higher and higher interest rate levels. There is no bullish outlook for the stock market here, said Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities.
High-interest rates in the United States have already dragged manufacturing and other industries into contraction, while also helping to cause numerous failures in the banking system that have shaken confidence. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that even though his central bank did not raise rates last week, it could do more by the end of the year.
An early report last week indicated that the overall US economy continues to grow, even as manufacturing is shrinking and output fell to a five-month low.
In energy trade, benchmark US crude rose 44 cents to USD 69.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 35 cents to US$69.16 on Friday. International benchmark Brent crude rose 55 cents to USD 74.40 a barrel.
In currency trade, the US dollar declined to 143.02 JPY from 143.58 yen. The euro is trading at $1.0901, from a low of $1.0903. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.73 per cent from 3.79 per cent late on Thursday.
(with input from AP)
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