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-World shares fall as Hong Kong violence unnerves investors

Published 2019-11-11, 04:37 a/m
Updated 2019-11-11, 12:32 p/m
GLOBAL MARKETS-World shares fall as Hong Kong violence unnerves investors

GLOBAL MARKETS-World shares fall as Hong Kong violence unnerves investors

* MSCI world index falls 0.2%

* Hong Kong violence escalates in rare daytime clashes

* Hang Seng index loses 3%

* European shares down 0.2%

* Gold, Japanese yen gain

* Trade war worries also weigh

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Tom Wilson

LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Shares across the globe fell on Monday, buffeted by escalating violence in Hong Kong that pushed Asian stocks to their worst day since August and stoked demand for the safe-haven yen and gold.

In the 24th straight week of pro-democracy unrest, Hong Kong police shot and wounded a protester as the Chinese-ruled territory saw rare working-hours violence. MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which tracks shares in 47 countries, slipped 0.2%, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI falling 2.7% and leading losses across Asia.

There, MSCI's widest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.2% from six-month highs to set a course for its worst day since late August. Chinese blue chips .CSI300 dropped 1.8%.

The nerves spread to Europe, too.

The broad Euro STOXX 600 .STOXX fell 0.2%, with London shares .FTSE slipping 0.6% ahead of British GDP data . Wall Street futures gauges were also set to suffer, suggesting losses of around 0.4% ESc1 .

Some investors said markets risked being hit by any further escalation of the violence in Hong Kong, where protesters are angry about what they see as police brutality and meddling by Beijing in the freedoms guaranteed to the former British colony.

"At some stage I think it will be likely that there will be a more fully-fledged crackdown," said Stéphane Barbier de la Serre, a strategist at Makor Capital Markets.

"And if you see a crackdown, you could see markets collapsing. For these reasons markets are complacent."

The violence in Hong Kong sent investors running for assets perceived as safe havens and away from riskier currencies.

Gold XAU= rose 0.4%, rebounding from a three-month low touched on Friday to reach $1,463.49 per ounce.

The Japanese yen JPY=EBS , which often strengthens in times of global political or economic turmoil, strengthened 0.3% against the dollar. China's yuan, in contrast, weakened 0.3% to 7 per dollar in offshore trade CNH=EBS .

TRADE WAR

Investors were also focused on the U.S-China trade talks.

After a bout of optimism last week over prospects for Washington and Beijing to reach an initial deal that would quell the worst of the 18-month old dispute, doubts over prospects for a resolution gnawed again.

On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with China had moved more slowly than he would have liked. Trump said reports that the United States was willing to lift tariffs were incorrect, adding that Beijing wanted a deal more than he did. some market players said Trump's comments fitted an established pattern of optimistic rhetoric from the U.S. president being followed by a more sceptical tone.

A deal was still likely, they said.

"It's the usual two steps forward and one step backwards," said Adam Cole, head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

"We are probably still moving in the direction (of a deal), and that's the way the market is priced on balance ... the direction is still a positive one."

The uncertainty over trade weighed on commodities markets commodities.

Oil lost nearly 1% on Monday, with concerns over trade looming and worries on oversupply weighed on the market. Brent crude was down 54 cents, or 0.9%, at $61.97 by 0745 GMT.

In Europe, Spanish government bond yields held their ground after a weekend election delivered a deeply riven parliament and set the stage for difficult talks to form a new ruling coalition. far-right surged in the poll, the fourth in as many years. Spain's 10-year bond yield was flat at 0.40% ES10YT=RR .

Most other major bond yields across the euro zone were little changed on Monday, holding below highs reached on Friday as investors showed scant appetite for risk in the wake of the Hong Kong violence.

U.S. bond markets were closed on Monday for the Veteran's Day holiday.

For Reuters Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets, please click on: LIVE/

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.