Risk-orientated assets decline, strong demand for safe-haven

Asian stocks fell and the yen gained after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan, promising to fan simmering tensions with the U.S. Gold extended a rally above $1,300 an ounce and oil rebounded as investors weighed the damage from Tropical Storm Harvey.

Equities fell from Seoul to Sydney and volatility jumped. Japan’s currency gained versus all major developed peers and the Swiss franc advanced, while the Korean won and Australian dollar dropped in a classic risk-off move. Japan said the missile landed off the eastern coast of Hokkaido in the Pacific Ocean.

Stocks

The Topix index dropped 0.2 percent as of 2:08 p.m. in Tokyo, while the Kospi lost 0.7 percent and the S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney declined 1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated. Contracts on the S&P 500 Index were down 0.6 percent after falling as much as 0.9 percent. The underlying measure was little changed on Monday.Dow Jones Industrial Index contracts retreated 0.4 percent, while those on the Nasdaq 100 were 0.6 percent lower.

Currencies

The yen advanced 0.4 percent to 108.81 per dollar. The won slid 0.5 percent to 1,125.36 per dollar.
The euro was little changed $1.1978, while the franc gained 0.3 percent.The Aussie dropped 0.5 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 percent to $46.79 a barrel, retracing some of its 2.7 percent slide on Monday.Gold advanced 0.6 percent to $1,316.66 an ounce, extending a 1.3 percent advance on Monday.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Trader Bozhidar Arabadzhiev

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