Asia shares worn away by Wall Street, oil near nine-month low
Asian stocks fell broadly on Wednesday while the U.S. dollar held firm after a slump on Wall Street and tensions over Ukraine smothered markets with a mood of risk aversion.
Geopolitical concerns overshadowed upbeat U.S. economic data which included a spike in service-sector activity to a nine-year peak and a surprisingly large increase in factory orders.
German industrial orders posted their biggest monthly fall since September 2011 in June as geopolitical developments and risks made companies more cautious about taking out contracts, data from the Economy Ministry showed on Wednesday.
Oil prices remained under pressure as plentiful supplies in Europe and North America outweighed fears that violence in the Middle East and North Africa could disrupt production.
Wall Street had been soft for most of the Tuesday session, but selling accelerated in the afternoon on reports that Russian troops were massing near the Ukraine border.
In currencies, the dollar hit its highest against a basket of currencies since last September after the Institute for Supply Management said service-sector growth hit an eight-and-a-half-year peak on strength in new orders and employment.
The standout currency was the New Zealand dollar, which skidded to two-month lows after milk prices fell again at an auction held by Fonterra Co-operative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter.
Source: Reuters
