MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sank 2 percent, as did Australia's main index. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 <ESc1> were down 0.7 percent in a sizable move for Asian hours. Commodities remained on the ropes as Brent crude oil shed another 74 cents to $32.81 a barrel. U.S. crude was quoted 71 cents lighter at $32.45. (An AFP file picture shows a man walking past an electric quotation board flashing the Nikkei key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in front of a securities company in Tokyo on January 8, 2016.)
SYDNEY: Asian share markets swept lower Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst starting week in history and doubts over Beijing's economic competence sent investors into the arms of the safe-haven yen and sovereign bonds.
The absence of Tokyo for a holiday only made liquidity even harder to come by, heightening volatility. Currency markets saw some wild swings with the South African rand collapsing to record lows at one point before bouncing.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sank 2 percent, as did Australia's main index. E-mini futures for the S&P 500
Commodities remained on the ropes as Brent crude oil shed another 74 cents to $32.81 a barrel. U.S. crude was quoted 71 cents lighter at $32.45.
China was again the epicenter of unease as the People's Bank confounded analysts by guiding the yuan sharply stronger, a move that might calm concerns about a competitive devaluation but only added to market confusion as to Beijing's ultimate intent.
Equity investors seemed less than reassured with the Shanghai Composite Index <.SSEC> and the CSI300 index <.CSI300> both falling around 1 percent in erratic early trade.
Perceived missteps by the authorities in managing the share and currency markets have led to concerns Beijing might lose its grip on economic policy too.
That heightened tensions ahead of trade data on Wednesday where further declines are expected in exports and imports, underlining just how anemic world trade flows are right now.
Both the Dow <.DJI> and S&P 500 <.SPX> had their worst five-day starts in history last week, and the corporate news flow is unlikely to get any cheerier with the coming results season expected to be a tough one.
S&P 500 earnings are forecast to have dropped 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter, a second straight quarterly decline led by the hard-hit energy and materials sectors.
The pain in stocks and worries over China even outweighed the positive impact of December's upbeat U.S. payrolls report and burnished the appeal of higher-rated government bonds.
Yields on 10-, 7-, and 3-year U.S. Treasuries all had their biggest weekly declines since early October last year, while five-year yields dropped by the most since Sept. 2013.
The gains continued on Monday with U.S. 10-year Treasury futures
In currency markets, the main beneficiary was the yen which is often favored in times of stress as Japan remains the world's largest creditor nation.
The dollar fell half a yen to a near five-five month low of 116.70 yen
Dealers said Japanese investors seemed to be bailing out of long positions in the South African rand by selling rand for dollars and then those dollars for yen.
That saw the dollar surge as much as 10.3 percent at one stage to 17.9950 rand
The euro was well supported at $1.0940
Earlier report:
SYDNEY: Asian share markets faced a testing time on Monday after Wall Street suffered its worst starting week in history and doubts over Beijing's policy choices sent investors into the arms of the safe-haven yen and sovereign bonds.
The absence of Tokyo for a holiday only made liquidity even harder to come by, heightening the risk of volatility. Indeed, currency markets were already seeing wild swings with the South African rand collapsing over 10 percent at one stage.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.6 percent, led by a 1.7 percent dive in Australian stocks.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.8 percent in a sizable move for Asian hours.
Commodities also remained under fire as Brent crude oil dropped another 50 cents to $33.05 a barrel. U.S. crude was off 59 cents at $32.57.
While many Asian markets did get a modest bounce on Friday, they still suffered their biggest weekly fall in more than four months.
Perceived missteps by China's authorities in controlling their share market and currency have led to concerns Beijing might lose its grip on economic policy too.
That heightened tensions ahead of China trade on Wednesday where further declines are expected in exports and imports, underlining just how anemic world trade flows are right now.
Figures out over the weekend showed consumer inflation stuck at a subdued 1.6 percent in December, while producer prices were down a steep 5.9 percent on the year - a deflationary pulse that is being felt across the globe.
Both the Dow <.DJI> and S&P 500 <>SPX> had their worst five-day starts in history, with the Dow down 6.2 percent for the week and S&P 500 6 percent. The Nasdaq <.IXIC> sank 7.3 percent.
Neither is the corporate news flow likely to get any cheerier with the fourth-quarter results season, getting under way this week, expected to be a tough one.
S&P 500 earnings are forecast to have dropped 4.2 percent, the second-straight quarterly decline led by hard hit energy and materials companies.
The pain in stocks and unease over China even outweighed the positive impact of December's super-strong U.S. payrolls report and burnished the appeal of higher-rated government bonds.
Yields on 10-, 7-, and 3-year U.S. Treasuries all set to their biggest weekly declines since early October last year, while five-year yields dropped by the most since Sept. 2013.
In currency markets, the main beneficiary was the yen which is often favored in times of stress as Japan remains the world's largest creditor nation.
The dollar fell half a yen to a near five-five month low of 116.70 yen
Dealers said Japanese investors seemed to be bailing out of long positions in the South African rand by selling rand for dollars and then those dollars for yen.
The dollar surged as much as 10.3 percent at one stage to 17.9950 rand
The euro was well supported at $1.0937
Earlier report:
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