Asian shares tumble amid Ukraine crisis
Asian shares are taking a hit in the wake of the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, with Russian troops surrounded a number of Ukrainian military bases last night.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry warned yesterday that Russia could be expelled from the G8 unless President Vladimir Putin puts an end to his “incredible act of aggression”and withdraws from Ukraine. Kerry warned that the US is prepared to issue economic sanctions if Putin refuses to back down. Visa bans, asset freezes and trade isolation were raised as possible options.
China confirmed a slowdown in its manufacturing sector, with the HSBC/Markit purchasing managers index for February falling to 48.5, from 49.5 in January – its lowest since July 2013.
However, this was slightly less than consensus expectations. London-based consultancy Capital Economics had forecast 48.3.
China economist at Capital Economics Julian Evans-Pritchard, said:
In general, we caution against reading too heavily into the PMIs at this time of year, as shifts in the timing of Chinese New Year make seasonal adjustment less effective. That said, we think the slowdown is genuine. Tighter monetary conditions over the last few months are likely to have weighed on manufacturing activity. Meanwhile, the official PMI, released on Saturday, was also downbeat.
The Nikkei is down 1.3 per cent while the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index has fallen 0.5 per cent so far. South Korea's Kospi is suffering decline of 0.7 per cent, but the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index is up 0.8 per cent. The Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Price Index is down 1.3 per cent.