Asian shares fell last week, dragging the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its biggest weekly drop since March, on concern the pace of economic growth will prompt central banks from China to India to curb price increases.
Aluminum Corp of China Ltd, the country’s largest producer of the metal, sank 9.1 percent in Hong Kong. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, slid 7.2 percent in Sydney as metal prices fell. Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest investment bank, lost 8.8 percent in Tokyo after Credit Suisse Group AG cut its rating. Nissan Motor Co, which gets about 35 percent of its sales from North America, retreated 6.4 percent as US consumer confidence trailed estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 3.5 percent to 122.39 for the first weekly drop in five. The gauge has jumped 48 percent in the past 12 months as growth in China helped the global economy emerge from the worst slowdown since World War II.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 3.6 percent this week, the steepest drop since the period ended on Nov. 27. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 4.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 3 percent amid concern the nation may raise taxes on mining projects.
Asian equities also fell in the week as US President Barack Obama proposed measures to reduce risk-taking at banks, raising concerns the plans would curb lenders’ profits and hurt the country’s economic recovery.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3 percent as government reports on Thursday showed the country’s fourth-quarter GDP grew 10.7 percent, more than economists estimated, while inflation accelerated to a more-than-forecast 1.9 percent last month.
TAIPEI
Taipei was also dragged down by news from Wall Street, closing down 2.47 percent, or 200.56 points, to 7,927.31.
Other regional markets:
KUALA LUMPUR: The Composite Index lost 7.91 points, or 0.60 percent to close at 1,300.45.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares fell1.06 percent, or 28.04 points, to 2,610.34.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares fell 1.08 percent, or 34.86 points, to 3,190.43.
MANILLA: Philippine shares fell 2.01 percent, or 62.11 points, to 3,023.47.
MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 1.12 percent with the 30-share benchmark SENSEX down 191.46 points at 16,859.68.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
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