Business

Asian stocks dip taking cue from Wall Street, doubts on oil

Posted October 11, 2016 7:00 am

The Associated Press

A currency trader walks by the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Asian markets fell Wednesday, following pessimism on Wall Street, amid disappointing earnings news from the U.S. and lingering doubts about the direction of oil prices. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) The Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) - Asian markets fell Wednesday, after a dismal day on Wall Street marked by disappointing earnings news and lingering doubts about the direction of oil prices.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.6 percent to 16,926.32 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 5,360.77. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.1 percent to 2,029.28. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.2 percent to 23,286.23. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.4 percent to 3,052.87.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200.38 points, or 1.1 percent, to 18,128.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 26.93 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,136.73. The Nasdaq composite index slid 81.89 points, or 1.5 percent, to 5,246.79.

THE QUOTE: "Equities meanwhile were hit with a double whammy. Fed hike expectations coupled with softer oil prices brought the S&P 500 index to a loss," says Jingyi Pan, markets strategist at IG in Singapore. "The oil story is still developing with traders now casting doubts over Russia's commitment" to backing an OPEC oil production freeze.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 9 cents to $50.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 56 cents to 50.79 on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 20 cents to $52.61 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar weakened to 103.43 yen from 103.94 late Tuesday in Asia. The euro fell to $1.1056 from $1.1128.

A currency trader watches monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Asian markets fell Wednesday, following pessimism on Wall Street, amid disappointing earnings news from the U.S. and lingering doubts about the direction of oil prices. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) The Associated Press

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. Asian markets fell Wednesday, following pessimism on Wall Street, amid disappointing earnings news from the U.S. and lingering doubts about the direction of oil prices. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) The Associated Press

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