Asian stocks fell, after U.S. shares dropped the most in almost seven weeks, as oil extended its decline and a stronger yen weighed on Japanese exporters.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.3 percent to 139.70 as of 9:06 a.m. in Tokyo after adding 0.1 percent yesterday. Japan’s Topix index decreased 0.7 percent after the yen added 0.6 percent against the dollar yesterday. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate slumped to five-year lows.
“The oil move we’ve seen has been large and rapid, and whenever you see those large and rapid moves in the market, it creates a large degree of uncertainty,” said Angus Gluskie, managing director at White Funds Management in Sydney, which oversees about $550 million. “In the long term, it will be positive in many ways, but in the short term, it’s an immediate blow to the financial positions of companies participating in the oil sector.”
South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 0.7 percent, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was little changed. Markets in China and Hong Kong are yet to open. The Shanghai Composite Index yesterday topped 3,000 for the first time since 2011 as brokerages surged on bets the world-beating stock rally will continue.
Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 percent in their most recent trading session, and contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 0.5 percent. While futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent today. The equity measure slid 0.7 percent yesterday, the most since Oct. 22, retreating from a record high as energy shares led declines.
WTI slipped 0.2 percent to $62.93 a barrel today after dropping 4.2 percent yesterday to its lowest since July 2009 amid concern hedge funds and other money managers bet too much on rising prices. Both Brent and WTI tumbled 18 percent in November as OPEC decided to maintain its output target.