Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks edge up as Wall St shows resilience, oil near 2-mth lows

Published 2018-10-23, 08:34 p/m
Updated 2018-10-23, 08:40 p/m
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks edge up as Wall St shows resilience, oil near 2-mth lows

© Reuters. GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks edge up as Wall St shows resilience, oil near 2-mth lows

* MSCI Asia-Pacific index up 0.2 pct, Nikkei rises 0.25 pct

* Asia stocks bounce after Wall St pares bulk of losses

* Crude sags after Saudi Arabia says it can increase supply

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday as a late round of buying helped Wall Street indexes pare most of their earlier panic-driven losses, although crude oil struggled near two-month lows after Saudi Arabia flagged possible supply increases.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent following a decline of more than 2 percent the previous day.

Global stocks suffered earlier this week on worries about U.S. earnings, Italian government finances, U.S. trade tensions and mounting pressure on Saudi Arabia over the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 added 0.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei .N225 climbed 0.25 percent.

Wall Street's three major indexes slumped early on Tuesday but ended well off the day's lows as investors snapped up beaten-down shares late in the session. .N

"Broader market sentiment remains fragile, but as last night's resilience by Wall Street shows, sentiment has not broken down completely," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.

"We may see more bouts of 'mini panic' until the U.S. midterm elections, but the bottom line is that the U.S. economy is in good shape and that should prevent sentiment from breaking down."

The dollar flagged against the yen, which is often sought in times of risk aversion. The U.S. currency was at 112.43 yen JPY= after dropping 0.35 percent overnight.

The greenback was also held down on a decline in Treasury yields, as the recent risk aversion drove investors to safe haven government bonds. The 10-year Treasury note yield US10YT=RR was at 3.171 percent after stooping to a three-week low of 3.111 on Tuesday.

The pound was little changed at $1.2986 GBP=D4 and near a three-week trough of $1.2937 brushed overnight.

Sterling briefly gained half a percent against the dollar on Tuesday after a media report that the European Union could offer British Prime Minister Theresa May a UK-wide customs union to clinch a Brexit deal.

The pound's strength was fleeting, however, a sign the market remains unconvinced May can successfully sell any deal to her Conservative party colleagues and get it through parliament.

The euro was steady at $1.1472 EUR= after nudging up 0.05 percent the previous day.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY was a shade lower at 95.924 after posting a modest loss the previous day.

In commodities, U.S. crude futures CLc1 traded at $66.33 per barrel after dropping roughly 4 percent on Tuesday to a two-month low of $65.74.

Crude slid after Saudi Arabia said it could supply more crude quickly if needed, easing concerns ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran. O/R

The recent sell-off in global equities has also raised worries about slowing growth curbing demand for crude. (Editing by Sam Holmes)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.