CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stocks tumbled on Friday to extend recent losses, as a U.S. government shutdown loomed and investors fretted about additional U.S. interest rate hikes in 2019.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index slumped to the brink of a bear market overnight, finishing almost 20 percent off its August record amid heightened concerns about growth and trade after the U.S Justice Department announced the criminal indictment of two computer hackers associated with the Chinese government.
The U.S. dollar hit a three-month low versus the yen as the Fed's policy stance added to investor worries over slowing global growth.
U.S. crude oil futures rose over 1 percent in Asian trade after tumbling 4.8 percent overnight to $45.88 a barrel, the lowest settlement in seventeen months, weighed down by concerns about excess supply in the market and on worries about possible drop in energy demand.
China's Shanghai Composite index was down 0.8 percent at 2,515 as trade and growth worries persisted. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.4 percent at 25,523.
Japan's Nikkei index was down 1.8 percent at 20,029, as the yen held gains on safe-haven demand amid political brinkmanship in Washington.
In a bid to boost growth and tax revenue, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved today a record $900 billion (709.9 billion pounds) draft budget for fiscal 2019.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.9 percent at 5,458, hitting new two-year lows, dragged down by telecom, healthcare and industrial stocks.
South Korea's Kospi average was down 0.2 percent at 2,055.53 while New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index was down 1.2 percent at 8,669.
U.S stocks plunged overnight to extend the sell-off seen in recent sessions, as a government shutdown loomed and investors fretted about the U.S. slipping into a recession in the next few years.
It appeared the federal government could be heading toward a shutdown after President Trump told House Republicans he is unwilling to sign a short-term spending bill approved by the Senate Wednesday night due to a lack of funding for his controversial border wall.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2 percent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell around 1.6 percent to hit their lowest levels in over a year.
European markets ended Thursday's session deep in the red after the Federal Reserve signaled further rate hikes and the Bank of England warned that Brexit uncertainties had 'intensified considerably' during the past month.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index gave up 1.5 percent. The German DAX tumbled 1.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index shed 1.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.8 percent.
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