Asian markets declined on Thursday following overnight selloff on Wall Street after Fitch Ratings cut the US government’s credit rating.
The credit rating agency Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA, citing expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years as well as growing government debt.
Meanwhile, private payrolls data in the US showed that the companies added 324,000 new jobs last month, much higher than the consensus estimates.
In Asia, investors will focus on the Caixin private survey for China’s service sector activity in July.
Asian Markets
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.95%, while the Topix also declined 0.9%. South Korea’s Kospi eased 0.11% and the Kosdaq was also down 0.88%. South Korean internet giant Kakao saw its second quarter net profit fall by 44%, prompting a slide in its shares.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures traded around 100 points lower at 19,403.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.57%.
Meanwhile, Gift Nifty was trading at 19,516 as compared to Nifty’s previous close of 19,526.55, indicating a weaker start for the Indian benchmark index.
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Wall Street
US stock indices ended lower Wednesday with the S&P 500 lodging its worst day since April.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 348.16 points, or 0.98%, at 35,282.52, while the S&P 500 declined 63.34 points, or 1.38%, at 4,513.39. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 310.47 points, or 2.17%, at 13,973.45.
Among stocks, Generac Holdings shares cracked 24.4% and SolarEdge Technologies tanked 18.4% after the companies reported weaker profit.
CVS Health rose 3.3% and Humana surged 5.6%.
Europe
European markets plunged, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index falling 1.4%.
Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 1.4% to 7,561.63, while Germany’s DAX dropped 1.4% to 16,020.02. France’s CAC 40 ended 1.3% lower at 7,312.84.
Shares of Telefonica Deutschland tanked 17.9% after rival Vodafone announced a roaming deal with 1&1 in Germany. Siemens Healthineers declined 5.6%, while German fashion brand Hugo Boss lost 1.9%.
Energy
Crude oil prices rose. Brent crude futures gained 0.14% to $83.32 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.13% to $79.59 a barrel.
Treasury yields
US 10-year Treasury yields rose to its highest in nearly nine months. The yield on the 10-year US treasury rose to 4.07% from 4.04% late Tuesday.
Bullion
Gold prices slipped on Wednesday as the dollar rose and bond yields strengthened.
Spot gold fell 0.4% at $1,935.77 per ounce, while US gold futures settled 0.2% lower at $1,975.
(With inputs from Reuters)
