Wednesday marked a new 11-week low for stocks in Asia as investors continued to weigh disappointing Chinese economic data and the lack of fresh stimulus, and as worries about interest rates in the U.S. slammed Wall Street overnight.
As of 9:41 AM Bangkok time, the Nikkei 225 in Japan has declined 1.03% despite an increase in sentiment among Japanese companies in July, as reported by the Reuters Tankan survey.
The Kospi index in South Korea returned from a holiday down 1.18%.
The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia fell 1.33%.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.18%, while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.69%.
Overnight in the United States, all three major indexes fell, with the S&P 500 declining by 1.16% to close the day below its 50-day moving average. After three consecutive days of gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite both experienced losses of 1.02% and 1.14%, respectively.
The financial sector led the decline in the U.S., with JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo falling 2% and Bank of America losing 3%. Fitch recently warned that it may have to lower the credit ratings of dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase.
