Equity markets in Asia extend loses as US-China trade fears remain in place

Markets in Asia extended losses for a second-straight session on Thursday, with investors weighing in concerns over trade relations between the United States and China.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 eased 1.08 percent, after falling more than 250 points in the previous session due to a stronger yen. The broader Topix was down 1.21 percent. Nippon car producers posted losses of 2.8 percent in the session.

South Korean stocks were also trading in red territory, with automakers dragging the Kospi. Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors slipped between 2 and 4 percent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.08 percent, despite the financial subindex led other sectors to the downside. The country’s big four banks were down.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.40 percent by the time of this writing, while mainland Shanghai and the Shenzhen were down 0.44 and 0.63 percent respectively.

10-year US Treasury bond yields were down 2.979 this morning, down 0.81 percent despite FOMC May meeting minutes came in on the hawkish side:

“The staff projection for U.S. economic activity prepared for the May FOMC meeting continued to suggest that the economy was expanding at an above-trend pace.”

Yesterday, the US manufacturing PMI for May came in line with expectations at 56.6, while the services PMI outperformed its forecast at 55.7. New home sales for April fell short from estimation at an annualized rate of 662,000 against 680,000 seen.

On the news front, the US Department of Commerce announced the start of an investigation into automobile imports on a "national security" basis.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the current framework used in trade negotiations with China was "too hard to get done."

In other news, the Turkish lira traded nearly changed following the national regulator’s decision to increase interest rates by 300 basis points. In 2018, the currency has already fell 20 percent.

Economic Calendar:

Europe: Germany’s GfK consumer climate index for June is due at 06:00 GMT. UK retail sales data for April will be released at 08:30 GMT, followed by Inflation Report Hearings by the Bank of England at 09:00 GMT. At 11:30 GMT, the European Central Bank will publish the Account of Monetary Policy Meeting.

United States: Initial Jobless Claims are up at 12:30 GMT. Existing home sales will be next at 14:00 GMT and FOMC Harker will speak for a second time on the week at 18:00 GMT.

Asia: Tokyo’s Core CPI for May is scheduled at 23:30 GMT, with a 0.8 percent rate eyed.

FortFS